Naruto: Fractured
by Draco Kamikaze
Summary: Kinjutsu: Forbidden techniques. Kage Bunshin was put into the Forbidden Scroll with good reason, and when Naruto used it something changed. Now, with something perhaps less broken than others may see, his potential will soar and his dreams will come closer in reach. Sometimes a fractured mind holds even more potential than even they know.
1. Hinting at Madness

AN: Hello to all to whom know me, I'm back! Er...well mostly. Clearly this is not my normal stories, but there's a good reason! I've had this idea in my head for a while, and after rereading some things, I realized that I miss writing fanfiction...but I need to repractice my writing skills to get back on par with where I once was. As such, this story is going to be a "practice" story as well as allowing me to have fun with a storyline i've had for a while.

So, to all those who've asked... _yes_. I WILL be coming back and continuing  From Darkness!

You see, after seeing a lot of the amazing fanfiction here, I've long since decided to write my own (obviously). Getting this story to this point now that Naruto is "complete" (hehe, yeah, because Boruto won't go on for a long while), I have a complete list of info to use, and will be able to roll things as I so please!

Now, this story was influenced in some ways by several stories; the one I remember best influencing the original idea being **Roku Naruto** by **Anthurak**. It hasn't been updated in 5 years, but the story had some exceptionally depth that made me want to try my own hand at a bit of madness...granted, I won't be doing quite the quirky over-the-top randomness they did as often. I'm thinking more along the lines of **Yet** **again, with a little** **extra** **help** by **Third Fang** , if any. However, I'm going to try focusing more on my own style rather than imitate to much of theirs.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I do own the voices in my head that influence me to write these stories. I - don't talk back to me! We have a story to run here!

* * *

Chapter 1 – Hinting at Madness

"Team 7 will be made up of Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke."

The announcement was met with varied results from the three newly promoted Genin. When Naruto and Sakura were called, Naruto shouted in glee, while Sakura sounded absolutely dejected. When Sasuke's name was called though, Sakura's face quickly switched to one of delight while Naruto…began cackling.

More than one head was turned to him to give him a strange look, seeing how that was not the reaction one would expect from Naruto. But then again, maybe it was? Naruto and Sasuke were rivals, er "rivals", so now Naruto would have a chance to fight or challenge him any time he wanted. Deciding that it would be better to just ignore it, everyone turned back to Iruka as he gave them the rest of their team placements.

"Your sensei's will be arriving shortly to get to know you." Iruka said, looking over them with a look of pride. His smile seemed to grow ever so slightly when he looked at Naruto, and had to refrain from chuckling when Naruto grinned back. "Meet back here in a few hours. In the meantime, relax, and if you don't know your teammates very well I'd recommend you get to know them. Until then, dismissed."

His students – no, his former students – filed out and began grouping up according to the teams he'd assigned them. One group seemed much less organized about it as one (Sasuke) jumped out the window to avoid any fangirls, Sakura tried to keep up by running out the door only to be held up by everyone else leaving the room, and Naruto…

Naruto had fallen asleep.

Iruka shook his head and sighed, tossing a piece of chalk in his hand thoughtfully before setting it down and exiting the room. While it'd been a bit since _that night_ , Naruto was more than allowed to be tired and get some sleep during his break. Still, Iruka glanced back at Naruto worriedly before leaving him…no, not alone. Just resting for the time being.

No one would ever say that Naruto was "alone" anymore; that much could be said for certain.

-x-

Kakashi glanced around the apartment calmly, single eye taking in every detail of the room. Naruto's room was remarkably not as Spartan as some people might've thought from how little the boy had, but it wasn't necessarily filled to bursting either. Picking up a milk carton from the trash, he gave it a shake before raising his brow. Spoiled.

"At least he seems to have some good sense. Doesn't mean much in the field, but then little details like that can mean a lot." Kakashi said, not quite sure whether he meant that to be a compliment or an insult. While it was true what he said, the fact that it was spoiled before reaching his trash meant Naruto likely didn't know it until after the fact; a little detail that could have dire consequences should the habit continue.

"True, but then he's…"

Kakashi glanced back at Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage (Third Fire Shadow), curiously. Noting a small change in his expression, he set the carton down and gave the Kage his full attention. "Hokage-sama? Something wrong?"

Hiruzen slowly rolled his pipe between his teeth, thinking over what he was going to say before nodding. "Somewhat. Kakashi, have you been briefed about the incident?"

"Of course." Kakashi responded immediately, eye narrowing as he recalled the information. He hadn't needed to read it more than once, but he'd gone over it several times simply because of some of the details. "Are you referring to the…damage?"

Hiruzen blew out a small puff of smoke as he sighed. "Yes. While normally I'd have one have to remove one for similar injuries due to its nature, Naruto…"

"He's stable." Kakashi finished, knowing that while it was something good, it wasn't what Hiruzen wanted to say or hear. "For what that's worth. Have the doctors been able –"

"No, they haven't." Hiruzen cut him off, clearly disgruntled about having to admit that. "I've sent a message out to Tsunade…but…"

Kakashi watched Hiruzen's grip on his pipe tighten and flinched, glancing away uncomfortably. Tsunade and Hiruzen hadn't really had an amazing relationship when Tsunade left, and even with the "addition" of the debt collectors in searching for her that wouldn't change. If anything, that fact might actually make it harder to bring her back, seeing how she'd be actively avoiding people from approaching her.

"I'll have to take my chances with what has been placed before us it seems." Hiruzen finally relaxed, a sad smile on his face. "You'll need to keep a close eye on him, and report if Naruto begins changing for the worse in any way."

"If he and his team pass, of course." Kakashi said it reflexively, as he'd likely said any time anyone had tried to insist something about a team placed beneath him for testing. Hiruzen simply chuckled at that and shook his head, prompting Kakashi to shift warily. "Is, there a joke I'm missing Hokage-sama?"

"Mm, a joke? Maybe. The reports aren't complete on it seeing how Naruto likely doesn't know it all himself…but no, that's something I'm not even certain he could fully explain yet. Which is why, should he pass of course, I need you to keep an eye on him." Hiruzen replaced his pipe and nodded towards the door. "In the meantime, I believe we have Sasuke's home to look into, and then you can meet your students."

Well, eventually meet his students. As Kakashi followed, he idly wondered which excuse he'd use for this team? There were oh so many to choose from after all, and he had to make a…well, an impression.

-x-

Naruto made disgruntled noises as he finally woke up, scratching his cheek in annoyance before glancing around. He could've sworn he'd felt someone hit him, but that couldn't be right. Yawning, he slowly pushed himself up and glanced around. No one was around? Where…

"Oh yeah," He muttered, stretching and heading to the door. "So, time to get to know my team right?"

 _Yeah sure, get to know the number one chicken and its fangirl. What could go wrong?_

Naruto frowned and smacked his head. "Oi, don't say that!"

 _*Yeah, for all you know, the worst_ will _happen with our luck! *_

"Hey!" Naruto smacked his head again, growling softly. "Hey, cut it out!"

Cursing under his breath, Naruto glanced around worriedly. No one saw him smacking himself or talking to himself, so he was…safe. For now, anyways.

Glancing up to the clock, he groaned as he thought over what he'd missed. Most people would've eaten lunch already, which meant the idea he'd had the other day to try and get close to Sakura by ambushing Sasuke and taking his place was no longer useable. Hopping up, he had one leg out of the window when the other teams suddenly began walking back in. Grumbling at his hungry stomach, he walked back over to the middle of the table and dropped his head down onto it again.

Watching everyone, Naruto found himself quickly growing annoyed with himself as he had a barrage of thoughts for each as they came in. Eventually he grabbed his jacket and dropped it over his head and hid himself away.

' _ **Aw, you're no fun!'**_

" _And I shouldn't have the running commentary every time someone comes into the room!"_

Despite his grumblings, he distinctly heard when Iruka came in and peaked out from under his jacket. Tiredly waving to Iruka again, he got comfortable beneath it and waited to hear who his team would be given as their sensei.

Speaking of his team…

Lifting his jacket to the side, he grumbled when he realized that he'd sat where the only reasonable spot for Sasuke to sit was right next to him. And actually, that meant that Sakura…

Turning to the side, he grinned when he saw Sakura giving covert glances his direction. It was – no, no wait. She didn't even notice him. Never mind, she was clearly looking at Sasuke. Well, back to peaking the other way and glaring at him then. And of course, Sasuke also ignored him. Again.

He perked up slightly as he felt something, but then relaxed upon recognizing it. Refocusing on Iruka, he took a small breath and listened for his team. The instructors were showing up, so he might as well see who his would be.

"Team 7's instructor will be Hatake Kakashi."

Each member of Team 7 turned towards the door, waiting for Kakashi to step in. And waited. And~

"It appears Kakashi-san is…running late. Um, Team 8's instructor is Yuhi Kurenai."

Naruto frowned, narrowing his eyes as the next team left with their team. Late? What kind of instructor was late on the first day? Pulling down his jacket, he grumbled and cursed as the room was emptied.

 _*Does that mean we get to have some fun? *_

He considered it, chewing on his lip before the last team left. Then, a devilish grin crossed his face. _"You know what, fine. Let's have some fun with this."_

 _ **Every five minutes?**_

 _Make it fair, ever ten._

" _Alright, let's finally have some fun!"_

-x-

When Kakashi finally showed up at the Academy, he found himself feeling slightly apprehensive. After reading over the names of his friends for three hours, he found himself mildly concerned with how he would handle the team if they passed. A very uncertain maybe, but the possibility was there.

As he walked into the Academy, he blinked as he just avoided the bucket that dropped down behind him. A poorly placed trap/prank, but not really –

He didn't flinch when a second bucket dropped onto his head and covered him in chalk dust, but then he supposed he should've expected that. Well, underneath the underneath and all that. Still, how had they found materials for two?

As he made his way up to the room, he found that they'd had plenty of time to make trap-pranks. 18 in total, with the last one being a simple eraser falling on his head as he entered the room. He'd allowed himself to be hit by more than a few to allow his "cute potential students" a bit of a bad impression, but that meant he was walking in looking white as a ghost. That was certainly a new one.

Looking them over, he was all too easily able to pick out the culprit. Uzumaki Naruto, the one who'd recently stolen the Forbidden Scroll, was laughing his ass off and falling back in his chair until it collapsed and dropped him in a squawking heap. Lovely. He did have a history of pranking people, so he should've known.

Glancing to the other two, he was mildly amused by their reactions. Sasuke was a like an unreadable stone wall, but there were small flicks of amusement in his eyes. Sakura was absolutely mortified, looking like she'd had a fuuma shuriken thrown at her face covered in explosive tags.

"S-sensei?"

"My first impression of you…is, I hate you. Meet me on the roof."

Kakashi moved up to the roof, his actual opinion of his students still half-formed. However, it wasn't quite what he said. He didn't hate them; hate was such a strong word. He was simply…perplexed by the tenacity of his students. Being pranked that much was definitely not what he'd expected from young Genin. Still, that just meant his next questions would be all the more interesting to hear.

Once they were on the roof, Kakashi sat back on the railing. "Alright, let's start with a little 'get to know you' exercise. You on the left first."

"Um, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura pipped up, looking rather confused. She even raised her hand of all things; she was going to have some very bad habits she'd need to break. "What sort of things to do you want to know?"

"Hm? Oh, well your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams."

"Could you give us an example?"

"I suppose." At least she didn't just dive in and start rambling; A for effort, but failure on the wording. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. My likes…I don't really dislike anything. I have a couple hobbies. And I guess I have a dream. Okay, your turn again on the left."

All of them gave him a deadpan at that, to which he just stared back. Hey, she didn't say to give a 'useful example', just _an_ example. Which meant

"Well, my name is Haruno Sakura. The thing I like is…well the person I like is…" Her eyes immediately went to Sasuke and a blush crossed her face. "My hobbies are…my dreams…OH YEAH!"

" _Good lord, the kunochi of this time were far too focused on love than ninjutsu."_ Kakashi thought, having to avoid shaking his head in embarrassment.

"And my dislikes are Naruto."

Naruto looked incredibly offended by that, even to the point of pouting as she looked away. Sasuke just ignored the fighting between the two of them as he began his introduction. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are lots of things I don't like, and I don't really like anything. And…I can't really call it a dream…but I have an ambition. The resurrection of my clan, and…to kill a certain man."

"But you can't kill a man _and_ resurrect your clan if he kills you." Naruto said, looking really confused. "So which one are you going to do first?"

Everyone blinked at the sudden comment by Naruto. To Sasuke and Sakura it was just Naruto being dumb, but Kakashi noticed something off. Rather than Naruto's normal expression and mannerisms seemed to shift slightly. Kakashi wasn't sure which he should worry about more; Sasuke's clearly continued obsession, or this…change, in Naruto.

"That's none of your business." Sasuke said, trying to brush Naruto off.

"Okay, but you better think of something later." Naruto shifted, leaning back and relaxing before his mannerisms shifted again and he leaned forward eagerly. "Oh, oh, I'm next! I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen, and I like it even more when Iruka-sensei pays for ramen. I dislike the 3 minutes it takes to wait for ramen to cook. And my dreams…is to swim in a giant bowl of ramen!"

There was complete silence as everyone took that in. Kakashi was rather skeptical about Naruto's mindset seeing how it seemed to revolve around ramen. Sasuke seemed to take that as just another reason to ignore Naruto's early prodding for the time being. And Sakura –

"Be serious baka!" Sakura chose to reach over and smack her fist into his head.

"Ow, I am serious!" Naruto moaned, reaching up to rub his head before pausing and dropping his hand before glaring at her. "He asked for us to tell our dreams, not our dreams for the future!"

Oh. Well it seemed that Kakashi wasn't the only one who was good at dodging the intent for the letter of the law. Perhaps he was smarter than he was given credit for. Still, that didn't mean he'd make it as a shinobi. Now that they were done with the introductions, it was time to let them know the truth about their "graduation". The upcoming reactions were always quite enjoyable to watch.

"Ok! So, that does it for the introductions. Tomorrow we'll start our duties as shinobi."

Naruto jumped up, eagerly saluting with a ridiculously large smile on his face. "Yeah! What kind of duties!? Duties! Duties!"

"Settle down, I'll get to that. But first, we are going to do something with just the four of us." Seeing Naruto settle back down and bounce in place almost made Kakashi wonder if this would get the 'kicked puppy' expression. "Survival training." All three of them looked at each other with confusion, clearly not understanding, so he pressed on. "Before anyone can truly become genin…well, when I tell you this you guys are going to freak out. Of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will be chosen to become genin. The rest will go back to the academy. This 'training' is a very difficult exam with a sixty-six percent failure rate!"

And cue the freak out. At least from Naruto and Sakura. Sasuke was cool as a tomato. Kakashi smirked beneath his mask, prepared to reminded that that he had warned them, when Naruto suddenly covered his mouth to stifle out what was clearly a laugh. A very full bellied, bending at the waist and trying so very hard not to let it out.

"Um…are you dying or something?" Kakashi asked, clearly not sure what to make of this development.

Sakura looked like she was about to smack him again, but was more than a little disturbed by his sudden meltdown. Naruto meanwhile…

" _Guys stop! I can't – I can't breathe!"_

 _But it's true! If you pass doesn't then that mean more than one person passed!_

 _*Hey, it could be fun! I mean, we'll have a better chance won't we? *_

 _~It does make some sense though. We have basic knowledge, so a second test would make sure only the best get through. ~_

' _ **Hey, what if – and it's just an if – what if they say us passing gives others a chance later? Hehe, the more the –!'**_

" _HEY WHEN ARE WE GETTING WAFFLES?"_

"Um, yo?"

Naruto blinked, finally relaxing enough to take the paper Kakashi was giving him. Looking it over, he frowned at the information. "Wait, so this is where we're meeting? And…why does it say not to eat? Oh, or we'll throw up. Wait, we might THROW UP?! What the hell kind of –"

Naruto snapped his head up to throw a thousand questions that came to mind, only to see Kakashi ignoring him and walking back down the stairs. Frowning at their departing, he turned back to the other two, only to see them following suit. That shot down getting other opinions on that front. Well…

"Alright, I guess we'll have to figure this out then!" Slamming a fist into his palm, he took a deep breath as he tried to avoid thinking too hard about it. Yeah, tomorrow was going to be a long day.

* * *

AN: So, this was chapter 1. I know that there's plenty of little details that are seemingly scattered and such, but bear with me. I promise not to leave you in the dark for too long. But, till next chapter, let me know what you think about this! Also this chapter was fairly short, but this is being built up so hopefully the later chapters will grow in length.

Also, due to some of the changes to the Naruto world being flexible, I'm honestly curious to know what you all think about these points:

 **Pairings**

 **Haku/Zabuza living?**

 **Haku's gender**

Those are the main 3 things, but if more things come up, I'll make sure to let you know if I don't already have a plan for it. These things though are very, very flexible for the time being.

Thanks for reading!


	2. Test of Wills and Bells

AN: And~ I'm back!

* * *

Chapter 2 - Test of Wills and Bells

As the sun rose higher into the sky the next day, Naruto began to get antsy. In his defense, he wasn't the only one; Sasuke and Sakura were simply better at containing their frustration. In Naruto's defense though, they didn't have five other voices complaining in the back of their minds. That kind of combined annoyance could drive anyone up a tree.

"UGH! Where _is_ he?" Naruto finally shouted, pulling at his hair in annoyance.

"How should we know? We've been here with you the whole time." Sakura said, inwardly agreeing with Naruto and glad that someone voiced it.

Sasuke looked like he was more bored than anything, simply sitting back and relaxing. He didn't appear troubled by Kakashi's absence, but then he didn't really care at the moment either. Having full confidence in one's abilities will do that to a person. Plus, he had a few surprises hidden up his sleeves.

Naruto, clones notwithstanding, was less certain of himself. Beating up a quickly made Kakashi looking dummy the night before and just before coming didn't help much. Or perhaps that was the anxiety of trying not to imagine failing this test and being sent back to the Academy after all that had happened to simply become a Genin. Yeah, it was more likely that.

Pushing himself to his feet, he slowly began stretching and grimacing as he looked at the time again. The information said to show up, not to eat unless he wanted to throw up, and be prepared for the survival test. Crossing his arms, he growled softly before looking around. Problems happened in missions occasionally, he didn't delude himself on that problems didn't happen. He just never believed it would happen to him.

…okay so maybe he was deluding himself.

Fighting his growing annoyance, he turned around to talk to his team – something he'd been idly debating on since they hadn't exactly seemed open to chatting – when there was suddenly a poof of smoke as Kakashi finally arrived.

"Yo."

"You're late!" Naruto and Sakura shouted, pointing a finger at him accusingly.

"Ah, yeah sorry about that." Kakashi said placidly. "You see, there was a black cat that crossed my path, and I had to take the long way."

No one seemed to let up at that, but Kakashi simply seemed to smile and brush it off. He'd heard it all before, and he'd decided to accept it as something to enjoy seeing how many students he'd gone through over the years. With a soft chuckle, he reached behind himself and pulled out a clock. Getting a confused look from them, he began winding it up before placing it on a nearby stump. Turning back to them, he brandished a pair of bells in his hand.

"Here are two bells. Your task is to take these from be before time's up. The training ends either when both bells have been obtained, or this timer goes off. Once the timer goes off, we'll meet back here for lunch." Picking up a pair of bento boxes, he placed them next to the timer. "Those who don't have a bell by noon get no lunch. I'll not only tie you to one of these stumps, but I'll also eat right in front of you."

All three of their stomachs seem to have a very vocal issue with that as they all stared at him with annoyance. _"So_ that's _why he told us not to eat."_

"You only have to get one bell, but since there's only two bells one of you will definitely be tied to the stump." Kakashi noted, letting the bells chime softly. "And the person who doesn't take a bell fails. So at least one of you will be sent back to the academy."

All three of their eyes snapped to the bells, none of them wanting to be sent back. They'd worked far too hard to get where they were; taking a step backwards would only frustrate them.

Kakashi smirked under his mask, clearly reading their discomfort. "You can use whatever you have at your disposal. Kunai, shuriken…if you want to pass this test, you need to come at me with the intent to kill."

"But-but sensei! You could be hurt!" Sakura shouted, startled by that idea. Kakashi almost felt sorry for her; she had a long way to go as a shinobi, and there were a lot of lessons she'd need to learn.

Naruto however suddenly seemed to relax. The memory of Kakashi coming in, covered in chalk came to mind, reminding him that he'd caught Kakashi in what appeared to be every trap he'd lain for their sensei. "You couldn't even dodge any of my traps! How can you dodge us if we come at you like that?"

"Hm," Kakashi deadpanned at Naruto's remark, idly remembering how easily he could've dodged any one of them. Clearly Naruto was unaware of the idea of hiding one's strength and giving off a false impression. He'd learn soon enough. "Those with the least skill tend to be the ones who yell the loudest. So, just ignore Mr. Deadlast and start when I say."

Naruto normally wouldn't be able to take something like that lying down, seeing how he'd finally gotten to the point he could be taken seriously. With the other voices also shouting in defiance, he didn't really let his self-restraint hold him back. Yanking out a kunai, Naruto spun it quickly before launching himself at Kakashi with all his strength.

An admirable, and perhaps valiant effort. But Naruto was nowhere near the level needed to take on Kakashi alone.

With an almost casual move – for him at least – Kakashi moved behind Naruto and gripped his kunai arm behind his head. The other two jumped in surprise, neither having noticed him move. Kakashi glanced down at Naruto, a bemused look in his eye. "Well, seems like you're taking me seriously after all. I think I might just come to like you after all. Now…start!"

-x-

Naruto wanted to kick Kakashi's ass. He wanted to fight him so much. The only thing stopping him –

 _~Calm down, you can't beat him that way. ~_

…was the voices in his mind. Yeah.

" _He's totally asking for it! Look at him, just standing around in the field…gah, let me a him!"_

Naruto made a strangling motion, still quite upset with being called Deadlast again. He _hated_ that nickname. While he had "earned" the nickname due to his ranking in the Academy, that didn't mean that he wanted to be called that. It was disrespectful, and was counterproductive to getting the respect of the village if he couldn't even get his teacher to respect him. It wasn't Kakashi's job to respect him but it was the principle of the thing.

Staring down at Kakashi, he tried to think clearly to plan…something. Anything. However, his growling stomach seemed to cloud his mind and make that a very, very difficult. Growling in frustration, he finally gave up on thinking and leapt down to confront Kakashi directly. He heard a couple of groans at that, but he didn't care; he had his Genin status to and his honor to defend and such.

Next time, he was definitely eating before coming to training. Nausea or not, it was better than thinking half with his stomach.

"…you're not the brightest of the bunch, are you?"

"Fight me!" Naruto shouted, deciding to just focus on beating the crap out Kakashi.

"You're a little off." Kakashi muttered, reaching back to pull out a book. Not getting an immediate reaction, he peaked up over his book to check on Naruto, who was giving him a very confused look. "The first lesson will be…taijutsu, the physical skill all shinobi must learn."

"Uh, okay, what?" Naruto asked, pointing at the book in confusion. "You're just going to read while you're fighting me?"

"Hm? Of course. Reading it is the only way I'll find out what happens next. Don't worry, it won't slow me down."

Naruto's eye twitched at that, and with a roar he launched himself at Kakashi, punching and kicking wildly in an attempt to land just one punch. Kakashi however, was just sitting back and enjoying his book, dodging the berserker blows effortlessly. Moving behind Naruto, Kakashi almost laughed at how easy this was. "Never let an opponent get behind you. Oogi: Sennen Goroshi (Secret Technique: One Thousand Years of Death)!"

"Naruto watch out! You're gonna get killed!"

Naruto blinked when Kakashi vanished, then began looking around franticly when Sakura shouted as well. Get killed? What? Finally turning slightly around, he briefly saw Kakashi behind him with his hands in a seal before a sharp pain rammed into his butt and he was launched away into the nearby river.

"Well…" Kakashi muttered, going back to his book nonchalantly. "That was less than interesting."

" _Well, that went well."_

" _ **I'm totally stealing that technique for later."**_

Naruto blinked in pain before gritting his teeth. _"Are you kidding me! This is ridiculous!"_

 _~I warned you. ~_

Blinking, Naruto focused on that voice. He hadn't had much of a chance to figure all that out, since it'd only been a few days since they'd suddenly wound up in his mind. Still, he was slowly starting to pick out the differences between them. This voice was…calm? When the voices initially started to converse, Naruto had learned the very interesting fact that no matter how 'loudly' one shouted in a person's mind, it all sounded the same volume. That made tone also more difficult, though the 'voice' of it stood out.

" _Well then stop warning me and start telling me something I can use!"_ Naruto internally shouted, pulling out a pair of shuriken. He just wanted to get a bell, grab something to eat and be done with this stupid test.

" _ **You do remember you have clones right?"**_

Naruto paused, realizing that voice had a point. Why hadn't he just spammed Kakashi with them from the start? That would have been an amazing idea! Or…not? Damn his stomach and making it harder to think. Crossing his arms in the hand seal for his newest technique, he smirked as he began swimming to the surface.

Pulling himself onto the bank of the little lake he'd been knocked into, Naruto growled at Kakashi.

"Hm? What's wrong?" Kakashi asked, barely looking over his book at him to check on him. "If you don't get a bell before noon, you won't get lunch."

"I know that!" Grimacing, he shakily began pushing himself to his feet. "I was just a little careless, that's all."

"Carelessness can be your worst enemy you know."

"I…already know that."

Kakashi seemed to pause at that, moving his book out of the way to seriously look at him. Naruto seemed to be actually reminded of something where his carelessness caused him personal harm. Of course, if he'd truly learned from his mistake, he wouldn't have been so careless.

Thinking back on the information he'd received, he sighed softly as he realized that Naruto likely hadn't thought about the difference between an Academy teaching Chunin and a Jonin before diving into a 1v1 with him. While he could forgive him for that arrogance in the village in a 'friendly' training exercise, it wouldn't be nearly as allowable in an actual battle. His expression seemed to be misinterpreted by Naruto, who looked like Kakashi was somehow insulting him.

"Hey! Don't count me out just yet!" Suddenly, from behind Naruto a half dozen clones burst from the water. Grinning impishly, Naruto and his clones began rushing him. "Don't get careless now there are more of me! This is my new jutsu, the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)!"

Kakashi glanced between Naruto and the clones, trying not to smile behind his mask. So, this is the technique Naruto learned…and the one that caused his 'issues'. Narrowing his eyes, he glanced between the clones quickly to see if he could detect any differences. However, despite his years of experience, he couldn't say with certainty whether or not any of the clones were acting oddly.

That is to say, he couldn't say with _certainty_. There were minor discrepancies, just enough for him to pick out. Given a little more time, he could –

With a start, he glanced back as he was suddenly put into a hold by another Naruto who'd snuck up behind him. _"Wait, when –"_

"Hehe, never let an opponent get behind you, right Kakashi-sensei?!"

" _Well, at least he's a fast learner."_ Kakashi idly thought as the other Naruto's launched themselves at him. Looking between them, he picked out the one he'd seen as the original and braced himself. _"Ready…_ _Kawarimi no Jutsu_ _(Substitution Technique)!"_

-x-

Sasuke and Sakura watched the fight with a mix between stunned stupor, blinding hunger, and silent amazement. The fight, while starting with Naruto's insanity in trying to fight Kakashi one-on-one, had simply reminded them of the difference in their strengths. Kakashi was barely trying to dodge or even really fight Naruto. He was playing around with him, watching Naruto make a fool of himself and was probably finding the entire experience to be just a big joke.

And then Naruto had _physical_ clones burst out of the lake and attack Kakashi. Neither of them had seen physical clones like that, especially since the average clone technique was meant to only be a shadow-like projection. These effected the water as they jumped out, clearly showing themselves to be anything but projections. He even managed to get one to sneak up behind Kakashi and put him into a hold…

Only for Kakashi to suddenly vanish and become Naruto right before Naruto hit him.

The group of Naruto's all looked between each other, looking very, _very_ confused at the sudden disappearance of Kakashi. While from the outside it was more obvious as to what most likely happened, the Naruto's clearly had different ideas.

"Is it you?" One of the Naruto's asked, grabbing another Naruto by their jacket.

"Hey, come on it's not me!" That Naruto shouted back, holding up his hands defensively.

"I'm gonna clock you all till I find Kakashi!" One of them shouted, rolling up his sleeves with a rather…violent look in his eyes.

"Wait, wait!" Another clone said, placing his hands on the two more violent Naruto's. "Give me a second…"

Sasuke frowned at the display, idly noting that there were some…discrepancies between the clones. It was almost like watching a group of people who didn't trust one another and were close to blows. Naruto might've been so random as to fight himself without reason, but there were the ones who weren't acting quite as "Naruto-like". Like the one who was acting as a peacekeeper; Naruto was not the first person they'd label as a peacekeeper.

Glancing around, he found that he couldn't see any sign of Kakashi at all. Gritting his teeth, he shifted uncomfortably while shifting a handful of shuriken between his fingers. If he could find an opening, he might get off a good enough hit to go grab a –

"Hey look a bell!"

All eyes moved to Naruto, including the other clones, as he gleefully moved over to pick up the errant bell that seemed to have fallen off Kakashi's belt when he switched with one of the Naruto clones. Practically everyone watching realized that, after all that Kakashi had already done, there was no way he had just 'dropped' a bell. With one voice they all seemed to shout, "No!"

But Naruto was already on top of it, and as he looked around he was caught up in a snare that threw him upwards and bounced him around like a ragdoll.

Everyone just stared at him for a moment, not certain if they were supposed to be amused by it, or if they should've helped in some way. Then, with a loud cry, the clones of Naruto charged forwards and raced at the bell. Even if Naruto had missed it, there was still a chance for one of them to get it and give it to him.

With a sudden blur of motion, Kakashi snapped up the bell and slammed into the clones with frightening speed. Sending them flying in various directions, Kakashi then turned to Naruto with a lightly impressed expression.

"Instead of dispelling them like I expected, you kept them around. Got pretty close to actually grabbing it actually." Kakashi twirled the bell idly as he glanced up at Naruto. "Still, it wasn't –"

"You shouldn't underestimate us!"

Kakashi, like when he was grabbed from behind, was startled when the clones he had knocked down suddenly leapt back up and slammed into him. No, not all of them, only three of them had remained. The one who'd spoken had wrapped his arms around Kakashi's waist to try and keep him from leaving. Gripping them by their jacket, he ground his teeth and yanked him off, spinning them around and threw them into the others.

" _So they're showing themselves. I should…"_ Kakashi began to think, but paused as he looked at them more carefully.

It was common knowledge between the Jonin of Konohagakure that the Kage Bunshin was a Kinjutsu (forbidden technique) for a very, very good reason. It had so very many uses that made it perhaps one of the most versatile technique anyone had ever created. But, of course, any such technique that had such versatility had drawbacks; some less obvious than others.

For example, the idea of splitting one's chakra between multiple clones could be very bad if one didn't have a great deal of chakra. This was remedied by training their reserves until they could handle half of their reserves running around. One would also find that upon being dispelled a clone that most of the chakra – not all sadly – would be returned back to the original.

Another thing that could be "bad" was the backlash of impressions from things learned by the clones. If one had a strong enough mind, they could withstand the backlash that came with it, which was simply a case of practicing with a few clones at a time until they could filter though the information.

However, the final one was the reason most Jonin didn't use it. Because if one used it with a fracturing mental state, the results could be…disastrous.

And yet, Naruto didn't appear to be suffering from the final issue; at least, he wasn't suffering from it in the most documented way. If anything, these clones seemed…

Kakashi smiled, using another Kawarimi with a log as a handful of shuriken slammed into his replacement from the forest. He'd keep an eye on Naruto when he could, but he was in the middle of a training test. It was his job to ensure that his students were given every opportunity that they took for themselves. While he clearly hadn't read up enough before diving into using the technique, it was up to Naruto to use it properly. If he didn't, Kakashi _would_ do what he could to help Naruto.

If his clones didn't get to him first.

The two clones remaining behind stared at the log as it fell away before glancing back to Naruto. After a couple of seconds, one of them bent at the waist as he laughed at Naruto's predicament.

"Oh my gosh, you look like a tiny bunny!" They said, pointing at Naruto with a huge grin.

The other clone rolled their eyes, taking out a kunai and throwing it at the cord idly. He seemed to blink as Naruto was dropped on his head, causing him to glance up idly. "Huh, I should've thought that through."

"Ow…" Naruto groaned, rubbing his head before glaring at the clone. "Yeah you should've. What the heck?"

"I cut you down." The second clone shrugged, looking quite nonchalant about it. "How I did it didn't seem like a problem at the time."

"Yeah, besides!" The first one said, a giant grin on his face. "That was way too much fun!"

Naruto and the second clone deadpanned at the firsts enthusiasm before they noticed the other reason why the clone was grinning. Slowly Naruto grinned as well, and the three of them began plotting how best to rub it in.

-x-

Kakashi was impressed. Not just from the display of skill Sasuke had just shown – though that was admittedly a great surprise, but also by Naruto. Or his clones, he still wasn't sure how to label that situation with him.

He'd gotten a bell.

When Kakashi had felt confident in Naruto's defeat, he'd allowed himself to get snuck up by the clones. In his defense, clones did _not_ stick around that way for people who used it wisely. He'd let his guard down and had paid for it with the bell that had been stripped from his belt.

Well, at least he'd only taken one of the bells. The one he'd used for the trap he'd kept for himself and kept away from Sasuke. He'd add in the thought of Sakura doing…well anything, but after the way she'd handled the genjutsu (illusionary technique) he dropped that presumption. For being 'top of her class' she had missed practically everything that hinted at it being a genjutsu.

On the other hand, she was a 'civilian' shinobi who wasn't expecting to witness someone hurt in a violent confrontation – at least her time as a Genin. Even worse, it was a vision of her crush Sasuke being hurt. She clearly had far more attachment to the boy despite his stonewalling her advances time and again from what the instructors had said. While it might've helped her pass the true portion of the test on any other day, it also created a glaring weakness; one that she would need to learn to control if she wanted any kind of leverage in becoming a shinobi.

Rubbing his chin, Kakashi debated on the value of just ending the test as it was. On one hand, the test was a failure for all three of them. They had all lacked the necessary teamwork he was looking for, and despite the fact that they had potential, he couldn't in good conscience take them under his wing as they were. They were close, very close, but…but no. Not as they currently were.

On the other hand, there _was_ potential. And if Naruto's clones were acting in the way he expected, then there was potential for his lesson to be utilized in a very advanced manner. With that in mind, he began to quickly scout out for where Naruto was.

He didn't have to look very far, or for very long. As it turned out, Naruto showed up not far from where he was. It appeared that he and his clones had been looking for Sasuke. Settling back in the trees above, Kakashi relaxed and decided to see how this played out.

-x-

Sasuke had never been so humiliated in his entire life. Well, that's not entirely true. Naruto being shoved into him for an accidental kiss just before the teams had been called in front of the entire class was the most embarrassing. This was more the largest wound to his pride.

The reason being was that he'd expected himself to do better than just touch a bell. Instead, he'd brushed his fingers against it and ended up being dragged down until just his head was sticking out of the ground. He didn't even have the satisfaction of Kakashi's apparent surprise due to his own jutsu blocking his vision with the large fireball.

Yes, Kakashi was a Jonin. Yes, he was still just a fresh-out-of-the-Academy Genin. But that didn't necessarily matter in his mind. After all the tricks and skills he'd learned, and with all the skills he'd hidden away to make sure he could get the drop on various people in the future. Particularly _that man_ …though with his current level of skill, he knew he still needed to learn more before he could take him on.

Scowling, he shifted and squirmed, not quite able to move enough to get out on his own. With a grunt of exertion, he sat back in his dirt prison as he tried to think.

Something wasn't right. He'd been able to touch a bell while fighting on his own, but that wouldn't secure his position as a Genin; only by _obtaining_ a bell would he be able to do that. But…why two? Why two bells? The less people slowing him down and getting in his way the better, but they'd been broken into groups of three in the first place. Something felt off about Kakashi's test, and he would figure it out. Even if –

His thoughts were cut off when he heard a rustling in the woods. Wincing, he tried to think of the best case scenario as for what it could be. An angry creature? Something with malicious intent? He should be so lucky.

Instead, one of the "worst case" scenarios played out. Naruto, with his hyperactive grin, emerged from the forest with his two clones in tow. One of them had apparently found Sakura and was carrying her carefully into the clearing. Upon seeing Sasuke, the three of them stopped and stared at him, not seeming to comprehend what they were seeing.

Finally, one of them pointed at him. "Holy shit Kakashi killed Sasuke!"

"Why did he bury him then?" Another Naruto asked, looking…emotionless? From Naruto? That didn't sound right.

"Maybe he cut off his head and left the rest of him somewhere else?" The third Naruto said. Now _that_ one seemed more Naruto. Spaced out, with stupid comments, but still grinning like a fool. That, and he was personally carrying Sakura; he found it difficult to imagine Naruto letting someone else carry Sakura when he could. Although it was clear that Naruto was struggling to carry her properly seeing how short he is.

"Hey." Sasuke called out, getting two freaked out expressions from two of them, but no reaction from the third. "Get me out of here."

"He's a ghost!" The first Naruto – the clone – said, pointing at Sasuke. The real Naruto was freaking out as well,

Sasuke felt like he was going to slam his head into the ground repeatedly at the stupidity of it all. Thankfully the second clone wasn't as taken aback, and walked over to begin digging him out with the second clone following shortly thereafter. After a few moments of freaking out, the original set Sakura down against a tree before joining his clones in digging Sasuke out.

Soon Sasuke was loose enough that Naruto could get behind him to yank him out. With the three of them panting softly, Sasuke looked them over with a skeptical look. This…well it was like Naruto to do something so out of the way and asinine, but at the same time after all Naruto had done to attack Kakashi, Sasuke wouldn't have been the first to think that Naruto was 'thinking' very clearly right now. So why come help him?

"Something wrong Sasuke-san?" The second clone asked, rolling into a kneeling pose. His face looked so…foreign. So placid and emotionless. It was freaky.

Sasuke debated on asking merely to sate his curiosity, but he had a feeling he knew why Naruto was here. He just needed Naruto to admit it. "Why are you here Naruto?"

Naruto – the one he figured was the original – blinked, suddenly grinning as he reached into his pouch…and pulled out a bell.

"I figured I'd help you get a bell, seeing how I got my own already." Naruto said, looking at the bell proudly. "It's…underwhelming, but hey if it means I'm a Genin I – whoa hey!"

Naruto scrambled back, keeping his hand away from Sasuke who was reaching for the bell. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Naruto. "Give it to me."

"What? No, it's mine." Naruto said with a scowl. "I got my ass handed to me – in more way then I ever want to say after this. I've earned this."

"Earned it…?" Sasuke said, his words almost not even a question. Finally, he grit his teeth and nodded. "Fine, I accept then."

"Uh…what?"

"If you feel you earned it, then I'll just prove that I deserve it more. I'll beat you and take the bell from you and become a Genin."

The two stared each other down, neither one of them seeming to blink as they shifted in place. Sasuke's fingers twitched towards his weapons, but he hesitated. Kakashi was fair game to go at with full lethal intent, but Naruto…well he was Naruto. He could probably take a hit but Sasuke wasn't so low as to try to _maim_ him to get what he wanted.

He ignored the hypocracy of what he knew he'd likely end up doing since that had no place in the here and now. This was about taking the first step; he needed to become a Genin for real if he wanted any chance of even thinking of…well, that.

Clenching his fists, he launched himself at Naruto. Due to the fact they were crouched over to begin with, it quickly devolved from the beginnings of a fight to a wrestling match. One which Naruto would find disadvantageous due to needing to keep one hand away from Sasuke. And with Sasuke's larger size and weight, he held the advantage in this.

Naruto, not one to be kept down, quickly decided he did not like how this was going. However, he couldn't simply get out from under Sasuke with the way he was pinned without risking losing the bell. But if he tried to fight back to much, Sasuke _would_ get the bell. Either option, he lost. So he chose option three; wing it.

Despite not being one to enjoy being called short or small, Naruto now used that to his advantage. Getting his feet up under Sasuke, he heaved and threw Sasuke off him, barely keeping a grip on the bell in his hand as Sasuke struggled to hold onto his arm. The result was Naruto still being held in a death grip, but with far more freedom of movement, and Sasuke flat on his back trying to claw his way into Naruto's hand to swipe the bell away.

With a growl of exertion, Naruto glanced over to his two clones and made a wild guesture to the fight. "Uh, little help here?!"

The first clone, the one who'd stolen the bell, simply shook his head before giving him a thumbs-up. "This is a battle between men. For honor! We believe in you!"

Naruto blinked in surprise at that before gritting his teeth. "Traitor!" Turning to the second clone, his stare became a dumbfounded one as they simply sat back. "Oh not you too!"

"He said it was an honor fight. I just want to see who wins." The second clone said idly, no concern or excitement on his face. Just a blank stare as he watched them struggle. "Oh, seems Sasuke's almost –"

The minor warning was all Naruto needed to turn and punch Sasuke's arm. While not the most orthodox of methods, it did give Sasuke enough of a start that Naruto was able to move his other hand to the bell and transfer it before Sasuke could remove it and hold it away from himself. "Ha! Now I've got the –"

Before he could finish his sentence, Sasuke released Naruto and lashed out with a kick to Naruto's gut. Catching Naruto flatfooted, he pushed himself off the dirt beneath himself to deliver another kick to Naruto's head. Unfortunately, he underestimated how loose the dirt was after having just been excavated, and his upper torso slipped downwards, causing his kick to go high. Both of them ended up rolling on the ground and coughing; one for trying to breathe again, and the other for getting a mouthful of dirt after his attempted maneuver.

 _"I can't be careless."_ Sasuke thought, eyes narrowed as he turned back to Naruto. _"I have to become a shinobi…I_ have to _."_

Were he not suffering from a wounded ego and an empty stomach, Sasuke likely would've been more levelheaded about this situation and played it cooler. As he was though, he could barely string two thoughts together with how blinded he'd become upon seeing this opportunity to get a bell. It was his best chance; Kakashi was too strong for him to beat on his own, and even if Naruto were to help he already had a bell. Why would he bother?

"Man, this is the thanks I get…" Naruto groaned, doubled over from the hit. Being hit in the gut on an empty stomach simply reminded him of his hunger and added another layer of pain to the hit that likely wouldn't have debilitated him nearly as much otherwise. "I was _going_ to try to help you get a bell, but looks like you'd rather try to take what I earned myself!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at that; though which part he was dubious of could be up for debate. "Why would you help me? Only one more of us can pass, and…" He paused at that, slowly glaring at him accusingly. "You wanted me to help you get it for Sakura."

"What? No! I mean…well maybe a little." Naruto muttered, finally picking himself back up before glancing at the slowly rousing Sakura. "I mean… well…"

Sasuke could catch what Naruto was trying to imply, and ground his teeth. "She's not some damsel, she's a kunochi – a shinobi of Konoha like us. You can't just swoop in and save her. She has to sink or swim, just like the rest of us."

"I know that!" Naruto barked back, eyes narrowed in defiance. "But just because we have to doesn't mean we have to do it alone! I mean…isn't it easier to accomplish something when people work together?"

"No." Sasuke said indignantly. Reaching for his weapons pouch, he began moving to draw a kunai when his stomach began growling and he froze.

Naruto stared at him for a moment before his own stomach answered back. "…you too huh?"

"…I don't think any of us ate." Sasuke said, remembering the instructions. "It was written like a suggestion…but it's making it really hard to think straight."

"Then perhaps you should stop fighting? It's really quite pointless."

Naruto and Sasuke turned to glare at the second clone. The clone seemed undisturbed by the glared and even shrugged, shifting in place to get more comfortable.

Sasuke was eventually the first to speak up. "And why's that?"

"Because there's a simple way around the test rule." The clone said, as though it were the simplest thing to think of.

"Oh yeah?" Naruto asked, crossing his arms defiantly. "And what's that?"

The clone opened his mouth to speak, then paused and glanced past them. "Give Sakura a moment. She'll want to hear this too."

The two boys turned with some surprise as Sakura slowly woke up. As soon as she was alert, she leapt to her feet with eyes burning with determination. "Oh no! Sasuke-kun is in trouble!" Turning to bold out of the clearing, she took two steps before skidding to a halt as she caught sight of said 'boy in trouble'. "Sasuke-kun! You're alright!"

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, glancing away from her to the clone. "Alright, she's awake. Now tell us what your sneaky plan is."

"Plan?" Sakura took further stock of the clearing before pointing at Naruto angrily. How dare he ruin a perfectly good moment between her and Sasuke. "Hey! What are you doing here Naruto-baka!"

Naruto gave her a deadpanned look before raising his hand and (carefully) showed her the bell in his hand. "I _was_ finding you guys to see if either of you wanted to enlist my awesomeness in getting the other bell, but then Sasuke attacked me, and now my clone is saying it knows how to cheat the test."

Sakura's eyes widened in disbelief. No, it couldn't be true! Naruto…if Naruto had a bell that meant he'd passed! In her mind's eye, she envisioned her dreams of being with Sasuke shattered as a devil-looking Naruto held the bell of her salvation just out of arms reach. Oh life was so unfair!

But…wait. Cheat the test? "Is that even possible?"

"Well, I think so." The second clone tapped his palm twice, indicating the bell Naruto had. "It's really rather simple. Naruto makes a pair of clones, and since they're physical clones, they'll copy everything he has on him…including the bell."

Everyone stared at the clone for a moment and considered that. Sakura was the first to voice her objections. "But Kakashi-sensei said that one of us would _definitely_ be going back to the academy! He even made sure that he only had two bells!"

The clone shrugged. "Sure, but if he'd had more bells, would any of you have tried nearly as hard to kill him just to get the bell? To really let loose?"

Sasuke was the first to glance away at that. His use of the Goukakyuu no jutsu (Grand Fireball Technique) – a jutsu he'd hidden from the instructors as a minor 'ace in the hole' for years – was its own proof of how desperate he'd been.

"Not only that, but he had you all not eat and then showed up late to the training he scheduled? You almost ripped each other's arms off trying to get that bell just now." The clone cocked his head, squinting as though trying to think of something. "…not that you guys ever got along before, but that's quite the step up."

Naruto huffed indignantly at that. "Well, he started it."

"I did not." Sasuke muttered back, clenching the arm Naruto had punched. It was feeling remarkably tingly and he had to wave his hand to try and get some feeling back into it. Naruto's punch had hurt like a son of a bitch.

" _Regardless_ …jeez." The clone rubbed the bridge of his nose as thought the two of them were giving him a headache. "Look, he said if you have a bell you pass. He said that it had to be his bell…and technically it _will_ be one of the bells he had. It'll just be a clone of the bell. That way everyone eats, everyone passes, and no one goes home unhappy."

Naruto slowly nodded, crossing his arms into the hand seal to make the clones. "Hey, it's worth a shot."

After a moment, Sasuke finally nodded in agreement. Seeing her 'precious' Sasuke agreeing with Naruto, Sakura reluctantly agreed as well. Seeing the both of them in agreement, Naruto molded his chakra and created two clones. Now, with 'three' bells in his possession, they could –

A series of impacts slammed all around them, causing the three of them to jump in surprise. The second pair of clones vanished in puffs of smoke, but the first pair went down in a spray of blood as though from a mortal wound in their chest first, getting the three of them to push themselves away before they disappeared in puffs of smoke. Sasuke and Sakura looked around, with Sakura looking far more terrified than Sasuke. Naruto, on the other hand, was gripping his head and chest.

"And…just what do you think you're doing?"

All three of them turned to see Kakashi leaning over them with an unreadable expression. Backing into a group, they tried to give off the appearance of unity, but it was clear that they were all incredibly terrified of the unemotional-looking Jonin.

Slowly Kakashi sighed and straightened. He couldn't be to mad with them; this wasn't something he normally had to deal with after all. For one, he didn't usually lose a bell. And for another, there was only one Genin who knew how to make shadow clones to make that strategy work. Were it not for one fact, the idea might've been a good one – an amazing one even. Unfortunately for Naruto, it was Kakashi who made the rules for this test.

And simply cloning a bell wasn't exactly teamwork…although…he could use this.

"So you're going to try and break the rules?" Kakashi said, voice ominous. "Try to give everyone a bell, even though I specifically said that one of you would fail?"

Naruto flinched at that, but seemed to remember that Sasuke and Sakura were still beside him. Hungry and clearly somewhat delirious from the pain from a moment ago, he shot Kakashi his best look of defiance. "Hell yeah! There's no way we were all gonna fail! It's not fair if one of us gets sent back to the academy…" Glancing between Sasuke and Sakura, his resolve seemed to harden his stubbornness and he crossed his arms belligerently. "We all worked our asses off to get here, and we all deserve to become Genin!"

"I'm the one who's the judge of that." Kakashi replied, the soft tone he used getting a flinch out of Naruto. It's true what the said; speaking softly to kids will force them to pay better attention to what is said. "And you can't just cheat your way into becoming a Genin. It's like you aren't taking what being a shinobi is seriously. That's not what this test is about, and it seems you've completely missed it."

They all frowned at that, each of them processing that information. Alongside what Naruto's clone had said, what they were logically presented with was beginning to win over their delirium. While the boys had their stubborn pride, Sakura had no such qualms about perking up and voicing her confusion. "Kakashi-sensei? Just…what _is_ the point of this test then?"

"The point of this test is teamwork." Kakashi admitted, knowing that the alarm would be going off soon regardless. Besides that, what they had been doing was close – not quite, but close – to what he was looking for. "Together, the three of you might've gotten the bells."

"Teamwork?" Sasuke said skeptically, clearly not impressed by the idea of that.

Sakura on the other hand was more aware of something wrong with that logic. "But, Kakashi-sensei, you only had two bells and said only those who got bells would pass! Even if we worked together one of us would still fail! What teamwork is that supposed to be? We just ended up fighting each other!"

"That's the point! It was to see if you could put aside yourselves to help other." Kakashi replied, as though it was the most obvious thing. "But despite your team… Sakura, despite Naruto being closer and already having gotten a bell, you ran off to find Sasuke who was further away. Naruto, while you _did_ get bell, you went off on your own against a superior opponent. And Sasuke, you assumed the others would get in your way and tried to do everything yourself. Shinobi duties are done by teams, not just individuals. In this world, being individually strong is good. But what's even more important is teamwork. Those who betray the rules are trash, _but_ those who abandon their friends and teammates are worse than trash."

That seemed to sober them all. They must've all thought they were doing well, up until they'd realized that they'd completely missed the entire point of the exam. Individually, Naruto and Sasuke had decent enough skills that – with some work – could make them splendid shinobi. Sakura needed more work than polish, but even she had potential if she'd just reach for it.

With a sigh, he leaned back against a tree. What to do, what to do. "Maybe I was wrong. I shouldn't send any of you back to the Academy." Seeing them perk up at that, he dashed those hopes quickly. "Instead, you should all quit being shinobi."

"WHAT?!" Naruto shouted, jumping to his feet and jabbing a finger at Kakashi. "You can't just say that! We are totally shinobi material!"

"All I see is a bunch of punks, playing at being shinobi." Kakashi replied jadedly, glaring down Naruto.

"Then teach us." Naruto suddenly shifted, his entire body relaxing as his expression became…void? "If we're bad at teamwork, then help us get better. We're not stupid Kakashi-sensei, so please…"

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at Naruto, noting when Naruto blinked in confusion as he came back to himself. That hadn't been Naruto, that had been…the clone that had caught onto there being something off with the test. But, once again, Kakashi had no reason to act on this revelation as it hadn't done anything to Naruto, and…they were helping Naruto.

"Fine, you want a lesson?" Kakashi stared at Naruto and pointed to the bell in his hand. "Give me the bell, and I'll pass you and you alone…but Sasuke and Sakura will fail immediately."

Naruto stared at Kakashi, looking like he was trying to think of something incredibly difficult. "But…isn't that the opposite of what you were trying to teach us?"

"Maybe, but this is still my test. My game, my rules." Kakashi said, eyeing the other two. Sasuke and Sakura appeared to be exactly has he'd figured they'd be; offended, confused, and worried. They had no faith in Naruto. And why should they? According to his file he was the deadlast, had no friends in his class, and there was no reason for him to stand up for them. Crush on Sakura or not, if he had to choose between his career and them…

Naruto looked like he was trying very hard not to just hand over the bell, his eyes with a far off look in his eyes as he considered the options. Suddenly he slapped his face and glared at Kakashi. "No way! You aren't going to pass me if I give it to you! You'll just fail me for ignoring what you just said!"

"Will I?" Kakashi asked, trying not to look to proud of Naruto for sticking to his guns. "I thought I was the one who made the rules."

"Well if you're making these rules and just changing them like this then this is a stupid training!" Naruto growled, crossing his arms with a scowl. "You take all of us or you get nothing. Take it or leave it!"

Kakashi idly wondered if he should point out the fact that, if he truly wanted to, he _could_ just tell Naruto that he'd had the opportunity to train a variety of other potential student and had wound up failing each and every one of them. However, none of them were as ballsy as Naruto; willing to either give it all up, or gain all he could ever want. It was a gamble.

"Fine then! You…" Kakashi said, his voice dropping and sounding incredibly ominous as he spoke before he brightened and pat Naruto on the head. "Pass."

* * *

AN: And thus, the annoying bell test is done! But honestly? I actually enjoyed writing bits of this. I mean, SERIOUSLY. After all this time, and all this fanfiction, has anyone thought to ask "what _would_ happen if Naruto got a bell?" I mean, **Tellemicus Sundance** had a good sort of idea with Kakashi's retaking the bell in  Legacy of the Rasengan I: Naruto, but the more I've thought about it the more I've thought "Naruto would brag that he got one, but if the timer hadn't gone off...what would Sasuke do?" (If someone has done something like this before, sorry but I've clearly missed it)

But of course, they're also incredibly hungry and Sasuke isn't quite at the point where he's willing to give up all his morals to advance. Good thing too, seeing how that's something I'm going to play with.

Hopefully I didn't seem to "bashy". I _have_ been known to enjoy more than a few stories that involve bashing of various characters, but at the end of the day it doesn't give the characters as much...well character. And I like interesting characters.

And hopefully this is (somewhat) beginning to hint at what is going on with Naruto, as well as how I'm going to have fun with it. The explanation for what happened during the "stealing the scroll" should be ready in...hm, maybe next chapter, and I'm rather looking forward to it!

Also, the polls!

 **Possible pairing**

Naruto/Hina/Haku/Karin

Naru/Haku

Naru/Hina

 **Live or Die?**

Zabuza live/die: 3/1

Haku live/die: 3/1

 **Haku's Gender**

Haku boy/girl/undetermined: 0/3/1

Hm...now that I think about it, I'll add " **Harem: Yes/No?** " to the list of questions. I've never done a harem fic, and I've seen some that have done a...well most do only a passable job, but I have read a few who do rather well rather than just feeling like girls throwing themselves at Naruto so I'd be curious to see what people would be interested in.

Until next time, thanks for reading!


	3. Ramen and the Scroll

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I do however own the direction I take my crazy ideas. Now, if only I had a good compass to show me how to get there…oh well, back to the story!

* * *

Chapter 3 – Ramen and the Scroll

Kakashi was mildly happy with the turnout of this test, all things considered. They'd passed, which was a new one for him, and were apparently celebrating as a team. Watching them brought up many memories, both good and bad, but he was more than capable of just allowing them to revel in their success.

As he watched them though, he allowed himself to review the last bit of what had transpired. Not just the confrontation with Naruto; he'd expected Naruto to fight him kicking and screaming all the way. No, what he was focused on was the death of the clones.

He knew what it meant – any Jonin worth their salt knew what it meant. For a clone to die in such a violent manner before dispelling it had to have more than just chakra holding it together. It needed a consciousness; a personality of its own and a desire for independent thought that _actively_ resisted being dispelled. But, at the same time, he now had another issue.

Two clones had died in that manner.

He'd expected Naruto to have one 'splinter' personality based on the reports. Iruka had mentioned the clone acting strange and had raised the red flag regarding the subject, but that didn't mean he'd seen everything. Which left Kakashi with less information than he liked, and more questions then he needed. However, he also had a secret weapon to get Naruto to open up a bit more as well.

"Alright, alright, settle down." Kakashi said, finally getting Naruto to stop whooping and cheering to high heaven while the other two fell back and watched. Sakura looked close to tears from how relieved she was, while Sasuke…was Sasuke. No one could make him react if he didn't want to it seemed.

Naruto slowly came down from his excitement, though he still bounced on the balls of his feet. "Sorry Kakashi-sensei! I'm just….ah! I'm just so excited! I finally did it!"

" _Oh~ he's going to be a ball of fun to work with in the future."_ Kakashi idly thought, a small grin on his face behind his facemask. "Well, I figured that, since it _is_ before noon still, that we might as well save the bentos for later and go out to eat somewhere. My treat."

That caught everyone's attention; mainly due to the loud stomach growling that Naruto's made. The others certainly weren't against it either, seeing how they'd not eaten either – Sakura even more so due to her 'diet', but were less willing to show it. They were…'professionals' now. They had to act it.

Naruto had no such qualms about letting his quirks out for all to see. "Ooh, ooh! Where are we going to eat Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi made a mock thinking pose. "Well, seeing how we're a new team, and I don't care what we eat…and you're the only one who got a bell…how about you pick Naruto?"

To say Naruto's eyes grew even brighter would be like comparing night and day. With a loud whoop of excitement, he quickly turned and pointed the way towards his intended destination. "I know just the place! Haha, Ichiraku's here we come~!"

Sakura was the only one who seemed less than enthusiastic about the choice, muttering about her diet being ruined and the like. Sasuke just took it in stride, walking after Naruto calmly. As long as he got some kind of food, he'd be fine.

Kakashi silently watched the three of them, evaluating and sizing each of them up as he watched them go. They'd each have their own trials, and their own barriers they'd need to overcome if they were going to become a truly competent and well-oiled machine, but…they _could_ do it. Maybe.

-x-

Naruto was ecstatic. After all the hard work, time, and bullheaded tenacity, he'd finally done it. He was now one step closer to his dream of becoming Hokage. Now, if only he had some super-secret way of amazing everyone to the point that he could just become Hokage. That would certainly be something.

 _~Don't get ahead of yourself. ~_ A now familiar voice said in his mind. _~You still have to be able to beat Kakashi-sensei before you can jump into the Hokage's chair. ~_

" _Oh yeah? Well I got a bell didn't I? That just proves that I'm awesome!"_ Naruto thought back defiantly, his grin stuck in place for all to see, and wasn't going to fade that easily.

" _ **Oi, wasn't it me who grabbed that?"**_

The second voice however, did manage to break that a bit. Pouting a bit, he shook his head. _"No way! You guys are both me right? So that means that it was me!"_

 _~I'd hate to break it to you, but as much as we are 'you'…you know what, let's talk later. In person. Maybe then we'll be able to straighten this all out. ~_

Naruto almost tripped over his own feet at that, not expecting such a flat response. _"Later? What do you mean? You and the other guy are going to talk to me? Why can't you talk now?"_

 _*Ooh look ramen*_

Ignoring the fact that this voice – though heard before – was new to this conversation, Naruto's head snapped at high speed towards Ichiraku. "Haha! There it is! Come on guys!"

"N-Naruto wait up!" Sakura said, grimacing as her stomach growled. She'd sworn she had more than enough energy for the test, yet despite not doing much during their exam, she'd quickly found that the lack of two meals was hitting her fairly hard. Seeing where Naruto was taking them though, she found she had more than enough strength to deadpan at the ludicrously that was Naruto. "A ramen place? Really?"

"Oi! Oji-san!" Naruto shouted as he entered, waving brightly to Ayume as he entered.

"Oh hey Naruto!" Teuchi, the owner of Ramen Ichiraku, replied with a friendly grin as he paused in his cooking to greet their number one customer. "How'd your exams go?"

Naruto gripped his headband proudly, shifting it repeatedly. "This baby's here to stay! I'm one hundred percent officially a Konoha shinobi!"

"That's wonderful Naruto!" Ayume exuberantly clapped her hands together upon hearing that he'd passed, then paused upon seeing the other three who followed in after Naruto. With a sly smile, she quickly began grabbing some bowls. "Then, I'm guessing you're here to beat the lunch rush for some victory ramen?"

"You bet!" Naruto said as he hopped up into a seat. "Hm, but which flavor to eat…hm…"

"Jeez Naruto," Sakura said with a roll of her eyes. "If you know this place so well then just order your favorite."

"It's not that simple!" Naruto berated, looking horrified and offended. "One does not just dive in and order 'whatever' or 'your favorite', especially when ordering a victory bowl! It has to have a statement! A feeling! It –"

"He's going to be a while," Ayume said apologetically as Naruto rambled on. "What can I get for you?"

"…hm, miso ramen for me please." Sasuke said after a while, not really caring what he got.

"Oh um…" Sakura looked over the menu for a second before finding one that she hoped would suit her diet. "Shoyu ramen please."

Ayume raised an eyebrow at that, but said nothing. Teuchi, realizing Naruto was rambling, laughed uproariously from back in the kitchen. "Ah Naruto, you always find a way to prove you're our number one customer!"

Cut off from his tirade, Naruto blushed and scratched behind his head sheepishly. "Sorry, I guess I was getting carried away there. Um…" Naruto stared up at the menu before slamming his hand down. "I've decided! A proper victory bowl should be something awesome, and I think a bowl of tonkotsu ramen is perfect!"

"Huh? Did you say tonkatsu?" Teuchi peaked out from the kitchen to give Naruto a bemused smile. "We don't serve any of that!"

"No! Ton _kot_ su! Naruto shouted, once more looking offended. "Of course you don't even serve tonkatsu here you serve ramen here, how did you even –"

"I'm just messing with you Naruto." Teuchi said with a bark of a laugh. "One tonkotsu, miso, and shoyu ramen coming up!"

"Oh, and what about you sir?" Ayume asked, noticing Kakashi had entered as well.

"Hm? Oh well…I think I'll be fine for now." Kakashi replied. "I'm just here to pay for the ramen as a treat."

Ayume blinked in surprise at that, but seemed fine with that response. "Oh, well then you're more than welcome to stay and –"

"Get him to buy a bowl!" Teuchi called from the kitchen. "It's the least he can do if he's sticking around!"

"Dad! He's they're sensei!" Ayume called back.

There was a momentary pause as Teuchi was apparently processing that. Then finally, "Is he paying?"

"Yes dad."

"Tell him he can stay then."

While Ayume tried to profusely apologize for her father's behavior, Kakashi just laughed and waved it off. He understood the mindset of the business man. He was just enjoying the little bit of 'downtime' he had before he had to go report to the Hokage. Speaking of, what would he say to him when he got there besides 'team 7 passed'? Surely he'd have to give more in private, to go over his observations on Naruto.

Glancing to Naruto, he idly wondered if he could find a way to get Naruto to tell what _exactly_ happened that night. The reports he'd read by Iruka weren't much help, seeing how he'd been separated from Naruto when he'd first used the shadow clone technique, and had been separated from Naruto for a bit of the chase. And Naruto's wasn't much help seeing how he hadn't been forced to give a report on that particular incident yet, seeing how he _technically_ had still been a civilian at the time. He'd still written a report, but it was currently a mess to read. But…maybe…maybe there was more to it than he'd initially looked through.

However, before he could act on that thought, the ramen came out and the three of them began digging into their ramen. Sasuke and Sakura weren't giving it quite as much gusto, but they definitely weren't slowing down seeing how they were hungry too. Naruto though, was on another level of enjoying ramen at hyper speed. The noodles practically vanished shortly upon hitting his mouth, and yet he took precious seconds to ensure that he savored each and every bite carefully before taking his next bite.

Thinking back on it, it was amazing how much Naruto understood his ramen and the shop. While his meal wasn't considered the most top of the line, tonkotsu took quite a long time to make as the boiling of the pork to make the broth 'just right' could take hours. The fact that it was ready when he ordered it showed that he knew – or suspected – that there was some ready to go, and was rewarded handsomely with delicious, gloriously delicious tasting ramen.

Glancing between his new teammates, Naruto idly thought about that for a moment. Teammates… with Sakura! But also with Sasuke. Was this a good situation or a bad one? Shrugging noncommittedly, he took another bite and let himself be content. Good or bad, it didn't matter; he had ramen, and that's all he needed for the time being.

That being said, Naruto found himself feeling…strange. Not a bad way, but more like everything suddenly switched to stereo for his taste and delighted thoughts. Each pleased sigh of content after every bite was amplified, and he swore he was taking extra time to chew over each piece before remembering to swallow and take another bite. There was only one explanation for this…

Teuchi had made the best tonkotsu ramen he'd ever tasted.

"My compliments to the chef!" Naruto shouted, waving his chopsticks happily as he dug in again. "This has gotta be some of the best ramen ever~"

Ayume had to stifle a laugh at Naruto's shout. The ramen wasn't fully ready for their shops standards and had a milkier broth than normal, but apparently Naruto was thoroughly enjoying it. Why should she spoil his belief that it was the best ramen ever?

"Hm…" Kakashi glanced back at the clock, a thought coming to mind. When _was_ he supposed to meet with the Hokage and the other Jonin again? Well, seeing how it was noon, and travel time…in perhaps a half hour or so? But to be late or to be on time, that was the question. He could use the time to read up on Naruto's report, which might allow him to understand Naruto better. Coming to a decision, he nodded to himself as he stood up. "Well, I'd hate to drop you all here and head away, but I've got something I need to do."

"Aw, you're leaving sensei?" Naruto asked, a noodle still hanging out the corner of his mouth. "But you said this was on you."

"Oh? Well that I did. How about…here." Kakashi placed the money needed in Naruto's hand, curling his fingers around it. "This should be enough for you all to get a second bowl if you want. Don't worry, I don't go back on what I say. Whelp, see you kids tomorrow; same time, same place."

Sasuke and Sakura didn't seem the least bit put off by the sudden departure and simply waved him off, watching him disappear in a swirl of leaves. Naruto on the other hand was silent. Were one to watch closely, one might almost think he became someone else for a second; calculating and distant as he looked at the money in his hand.

Then, as though nothing had happened, he slammed the money on the counter. "Well then, you heard the man! Send two bowls my way!"

-x-

Kakashi made his way towards the record room, putting his book away when he arrived in the Hokage's Tower. While it was getting some of his favorite sections, it was best to be alert and aware. Encountering people who'd come off their missions often could give vital information about the world around, and missing an opportunity to speak to them could cause him to be unaware of details the next time he was on a mission.

However, despite being alert and aware of those he passed, none were returning from missions. He did pause when he saw Might Gai and his team, but they were just completing their run at their standard few D rank missions that came through. There was plenty of small time jobs for the Genin to perform, however their Jonin sensei's still needed to call a time slot in which they could take their 'share' of said missions. There was only so many people in the village requiring assistance at any given time, and it was remarkable how effective genin teams could be at completing those mundane tasks.

As he reached the records room, he headed over to the desk to sign out the reports. As he idly looked over the list, he paused as he noted the name above his own; Umino Iruka. Raising a brow at that, he headed into the room and was unsurprised to find Iruka sitting in the room. However, he was surprised to find that the Hokage was with him as well.

Pausing as he entered the room, he gave the Hokage a slight bow as he headed over to them. "Hokage-sama. Iruka-san."

"Ah, Kakashi." The Hokage said, giving the masked Jonin a nod. "I was actually going to see if I could have some of your time once you were done with your testing. I see you're done early…"

There was an unspoken question there, but Kakashi didn't answer it just yet. Iruka looked…disturbed as he saw Kakashi. For a moment he didn't understand why since he'd never even interacted with the man before, but as he sat down he saw the file for his 'other' Genin teams that'd he'd received. Most people who saw his 'impeccable' record and didn't understand the point of his methods tended to look like that the first time they met him. Then again, he also didn't bother to tell them because he didn't trust that they wouldn't tell others just in case they tried to give others hints…which might be redundant now since he finally had a team.

"I was just coming to look over the records again." Kakashi said, glancing down at the Hokage's side. As he'd expected from whatever conversation they were having, the file he needed was in the Hokage's hands. "Some things happened during the test that didn't fully make sense to me, and I wanted to reread what happened to see if it might shed some light."

Iruka visibly perked up and Kakashi inwardly sighed. Iruka was a good man, but he was more than likely not going to become a Jonin. He was simply to kind, and to expressive. While one might say that of some of the sensei's (such as Might Gai), Kakashi knew better. Gai was kind to a fault, but he'd learned how to channel that kindness into an intense fire that would mold their students into the soldiers they needed to be.

Iruka simply wasn't as powerful a flame. Oh he burned with his kindness and passion, but it was a heat that was more the kind that would begin to mold them. He'd simply not learned to be hard enough to get his students to learn their own lessons, even if it meant they had to go through trials and difficulties.

That being said, he did have good protective instincts. "Actually, I'd like to hear your account as well Umino-san. The more information I have, the better I'll understand what I saw."

"What you…" Iruka said before clenching his teeth. "I see. So they showed up?"

"…they?" Kakashi said with a frown. So there was more than one. "So Hokage-sama briefed you as to what happened?"

"He just told me he has something called fractured clone syndrome." Iruka glanced back to the file in the Hokage's hand, his frown becoming more pronounced. "But, there's something about it that's…different."

"It's true Kakashi." The Hokage suddenly put in, getting Kakashi's attention. "I was not able to see all of it, but I did see enough to know exactly what has occurred. Even Naruto's report has left me with more questions than answers."

"…that's fair. I've never seen anything like it myself." Kakashi rubbed his chin, slowly glancing to Iruka. "So, would it be alright if I heard the account again?"

"Of course Kakashi-san." Iruka folded his arms, frowning as he tried to think. "I think…no, the exam itself was fairly basic. Naruto has always struggled with the average Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique) and as such we – Mizuki and I – knew that due to his failed written exam and failure to produce a proper clone, we had to fail him. However, according to Naruto's report, Mizuki had…other plans…"

-x-

 _The Night of the Genin Exam_

"Alright! Time to see what this super awesome scroll has!" Naruto said cheerily as he finally found a secluded place to relax in. Sneaking in and acquiring the Scroll of Sealing had been remarkably easy for him. It seemed that years of pranking had allowed his stealth to be more than enough to outfox most people and had given him a good idea of the village's layout which had helped him slip away.

As he opened the scroll and eagerly began reading over the first technique, he found himself groaning in exasperation. "Another clone jutsu? Aw man, why'd it have to be that one?" Groaning, he stared at it and began reading over the technique, trying to make sense of it all. "But…if I can master my weakest jutsu first, then maybe the rest of these will be easier! Alright…"

Nodding to himself, he reread it again. It wasn't that much different from the normal clone technique, except that there was a different handseal. Frowning, he looked it over again. No, that couldn't be right. Wasn't there more to it? More that he needed to know or do? Well, if it was such a simple jutsu then he'd be able to do it in no time!

Grinning, he glanced at the handseal again, mimicking the drawing on the scroll. With a large grin, he began channeling his chakra and shouted. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)!"

…but nothing happened.

Naruto frowned. This was going to take a bit.

In fact, before he made his first clones, it took over an hour; maybe over two, he didn't exactly bring a clock with him to check the time. Mainly the issue was because he hadn't paid attention to how he was supposed to mold his chakra to make a clone in the first place. Once he'd figured that out, the handseal threw him off as it was helping molding the clone differently the normal clone. But, through bullheaded determination and shoving an absolutely absurd amount of chakra into it to make it work, he finally did it.

"Alright…one more time…Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

With another puff of smoke, Naruto grimaced as he felt his head begin to throb painfully. Apparently he'd been thinking too much, since he only seemed to get headaches when he was getting frustrated and was trying to solve something. He didn't really care though, because as soon as he saw the smoke fade his head cleared and he grinned brightly.

Around him, five clones stood around. They all looked just like him, but more confused and in awe of everything around them. One of them was clearly as impressed with the others as he was as it touched the others face, causing the one they touched to jump in surprise.

"Ha…haha!" Naruto said, falling back on his butt. The five clones jumped and took defensive postures for a second, then saw Naruto and seemed…confused. What, had they never seen him before? That was dumb, they were literally standing next to clones of each other right now! "I…I did it! Haha, now I can pass the test! I'm going to be a Genin now."

The clones blinked at that, then looked at one another. Slowly, one of them began laughing. After a couple of seconds, another joined in. Then another. Soon, all of the clones were laughing and hanging off of one another as though they'd heard the best joke ever. Naruto didn't laugh though, as he had noticed something else about his clones; something he'd never seen, or would have expected to see himself do.

They were crying.

It wasn't like sobbing, or falling to the floor in tears. It was more, they were so happy and laughing so hard they couldn't help themselves. The tears just rolled down their cheeks, and eventually they all came over and sat around Naruto. Two of them leaned on him as they laughed, wrapping their arms around his shoulder. The feeling of their arms around his shoulders, with them being physically present, being _really_ there, caught him off guard. He'd read that the clones would be solid, that they'd be really there, but feeling their arms wrapped around his shoulders just seemed to make him relax.

"Naruto!?"

The clones suddenly stopped laughing, staring up at the trees with wide eyes before suddenly they darted into the underbrush. They didn't dispel like he'd thought. They just, ran off. Naruto frowned at that, very confused, but didn't have a lot of time to think that over before Iruka crashed through the clearing.

"There you are!" Iruka said, grimacing as he saw the scroll near Naruto's feet. "Do you even know how much trouble you're in?!"

"Oh hey Iruka-sensei!" Naruto said, slowly getting to his feet. "Heh, I did it. I learned a jutsu from the scroll. Now I can pass the secret exam and become a Genin, right?"

Iruka's eyes widened and looked at Naruto with confusion. But, why would he be confused? Didn't he know about the exam? "Naruto, who told you that?"

"Huh? Mizuki-sensei told me about it."

Naruto froze as he heard something rustling in the trees. Were his clones coming back? Well it'd be an easier way of explaining his jutsu success. Maybe –

"Naruto get down!"

He didn't see it coming. One second he was on his feet, and the next he was shoved to the side. There was a sound of cutting flesh, of metal striking someone. Staring back, he shivered as he saw his sensei peppered with kunai that struck where he'd been standing a moment before. "I-Iruka-sensei?"

"So, you found him too Iruka?"

"Mizuki-sensei?"

Iruka pulled the fuma shuriken from his back, grunting as he glanced back towards Mizuki. "So, that's what you were doing. Mizuki, how could you?"

"This would have been so much easier if you hadn't butt in Iruka." Mizuki said, shaking his head. "Naruto, you did well. Now, just hand over the forbidden scroll and we'll get you graduated."

"Naruto, don't listen to him." Iruka growled, moving over towards Mizuki. "He's deceiving you. That scroll…it's filled with dangerous forbidden ninjutsu! Mizuki just used you to get hishands on it!"

"Oh? Am I deceiving him Iruka? So you've told him about the Sandaime's law?" Mizuki's face turned into a vicious smirk, clearly enjoying having information that he could hold over them both.

Naruto flinched, not understanding what they were talking about. "What law? Iruka-sensei?"

"Naruto, don't listen to him! Mizuki, you know better! That's forbidden!"

A small part of Naruto wanted to smack his head at that. He'd apparently stolen a forbidden scroll; would he be in any less trouble for knowing this secret?

"12 years ago, you know about the Kyuubi being sealed, right?" Mizuki seemed to revel in the power he had, entrancing Naruto's attention with his words as he tried to understand the immense amounts of information being given to him. "On that day, a rule was made, a rule that could never be told to you."

"What? Wait, why couldn't it be told to me?!" Naruto yelled, feeling a knot forming in his gut. "What rule?"

"The rule is that nobody is allowed to tell you about that fact that you… _are_ the Kyuubi no Kitsune!"

The forest went deadly silent, with practically no sound other than wind in the trees and the tired breathing of the three there. Naruto was trying so hard to process it, Mizuki was smug, and Iruka couldn't believe what Mizuki had done. How would Naruto react to this? What would –

"THE FUCK?"

All eyes widened and looked around in confusion. Iruka was the first to look back to Naruto, confusion evident in his eyes. The voice had definitely been Naruto's, but it had come from the forest around them. Mizuki just smirked at Naruto, pleased to see that his works had such an effect on him.

"Yes, that's right! You are the demon fox! The one that hurt so many people, and even killed Iruka's parents!" Mizuki was lording the information over him now, loving the power he had over Naruto and Iruka. "That's why they hate you, because in reality, you are the Kyuubi!"

"Well, you're full of shit."

And once again, the three in the clearing were confused. A second voice, once again Naruto's, resounded from the clearing. However, the tone was…more passive than the first. Or perhaps not passive, but rather…emotionless? Like they didn't actually care that Mizuki was full of shit, it was simply a statement of fact.

"What…" Mizuki looked around, slowly becoming uncertain. Naruto couldn't perform the clone technique, and he doubted he knew how to throw his voice. And yet Naruto was trying to fool him. Grinning, he straightened as he pulled off a fuma shuriken from the holster on his back. "Well, seems you're trying to play tricks on us. Well it won't work!"

Mizuki drew back his arm, murder in his eyes as he spun the oversized shuriken faster and faster. Iruka grit his teeth as he prepared to intercept it, only to freeze at the sight of something. Were Mizuki paying attention to both of them, he'd have noticed and realized that he was no longer the only one on the tree branch.

With a roar, one of Naruto's clones dropped down and slammed a leg down on Mizuki's arm. As he cried out in pain, the clone grabbed the spinning shuriken by its inner ring, shoving it off into the forest. Seeing Mikuzi clutching his arm, the clone whipped his leg around and slammed it into Mizuki's chest in an attempt to knock him off the branch.

Mizuki was far from just being completely useless though, and was able to grab the clone by its leg and threw it towards the clearing. Growling, he reached back to pull the second fuma shuriken that he kept on his back, only for his hand to grip air. Glancing back, his eyes widened as the shuriken was missing, and in the hands of a second clone who was whipping it around to throw at him.

With a growl, Mizuki threw himself from the tree, just barely dodging the shuriken. Scowling, he returned his gaze to the clone he'd thrown. "So, you're the real one!"

The original Naruto was very, _very_ confused by this. A second ago he was begin told what was probably the biggest secret in the village, and the most world altering in his life, and yet his clones…his clones were clearly not as startled by this as he was. Well, they were less surprised at least. One of them was likely feeling like Naruto was, and at least another was very vocal about their disagreement with Mizuki's words.

But, how was that possible? The clones he'd made were supposed to be copies of him, which didn't seem to be what he was seeing since his clones were acting rather different than him. Incredibly different. But, they were also fighting Mizuki. Mizuki, his sensei, the teacher that had tried to help him pass the test, the –

He'd been about to kill him.

Naruto took a sharp breath, eyes narrowing as he pushed himself up and launched himself towards his clone and Mizuki. He could hear Iruka yelling at him, but Naruto didn't care. This clone, these _clones_ , were protecting him. So why shouldn't he do the same?

Slamming into Mizuki, he grunted as he struck against the chunin flak jacket and Mizuki's larger body mass. But it did what he intended, shoving him just out of the reach from grabbing the clone. Unfortunately, he was now in Mizuki's reach himself, and felt the brunt of it as Mizuki slammed a hand down on him.

"What the hell?" Mizuki tried to hit him again but they slammed into the ground and tumbled away from one another. While Naruto tried to scramble back to his feet, Mizuki stormed over and slammed his foot into Naruto's side. "You brat! You damn demon brat!"

"A demon…"

Mizuki froze at the voice, turning back to the clone that he'd thrown with him, noticing a dark, near malevolent look in his eyes. "What…what the hell…"

The clone slowly gripped his head, staring up at Mizuki as his lips curled back in a sneer. "You know, I kinda like that. Demon. It sounds…scary."

"Monster."

Mizuki snapped his head back, the clone who'd thrown the fuma shuriken standing on the branch having picked up the first shuriken he'd been forced to drop. Slowly, Mizuki realized that there were three, tangible Naruto's in the clearing.

"How many people have called us that?" The clone in the trees continued, spinning the shuriken almost casually. "Because you know, after hearing it so often, I think I'm okay with that."

"But not for you." Another Naruto said, stepping out of the brush. Their voice was the emotionless one that had called Mizuki out earlier.

"You're dumb." Another Naruto said, stepping out from behind the tree. This one had somehow gotten his jacket turned around in such a way than his arms were stuck in the sleeves, but he didn't seem to mind.

"Oh come on guys." Another Naruto said, swinging down onto a lower branch with a playful smirk. "Don't drag this out. He's not work it. Besides, he'll just call us 'brat' and curse at us. Ha! He's really terrible at insults."

"You're right." The 'demon' Naruto said. "If Naruto's a demon, then I'll take that from him. I'll be the demon."

"I'll be the monster." The 'monster' Naruto said, the shuriken now spinning at high speeds as he prepared to leap down on Mizuki.

"And we'll –"

"Show you why –"

"Naruto shouldn't be looked down on!"

Iruka stared between the five Naruto clones, eyes wide with awe and confusion. It was a clone technique, an advanced clone technique to be sure, and something he could be proud of. But, something was off, something was different. The clones were individuals, with the appearance of Naruto, and apparently they were very protective of Naruto.

"You brats!" Mizuki spat out, reaching back to grab two handfuls of shuriken to throw at them. "I'll just cut you _all_ down then!"

"Oi!" Naruto – the original – grit his teeth with a grimace. The clones seemed to be confused by him, but soon their confusion became grins as Naruto continued, arms crossed in the handseal for his new technique. "Don't look down on them either! You said that if I learnt a jutsu from the scroll I'd pass right? Well, Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The field was covered in puffs of smoke, and hundreds of clones suddenly stood surrounding Mizuki. They all cracked their knuckles, glaring down at Mizuki. "What's the matter Mizuki-sensei? Weren't you going to cut us all down? Well, if you won't come to us, we'll come to you!"

"Whelp, guess I don't need this now." The 'monster' Naruto said, dropping the shuriken dejectedly before punching his fist into his palm. "Let's get crazy!"

"Haha, damn straight!" 'Demon' Naruto shouted, the other four unique clones all grinning as well. "Come on then!"

With a loud whoop, the Naruto's fell on Mizuki. He fought valiantly (but not really, more flailing around pathetically) but was ultimately buried beneath the fists and kicks of the hundred Naruto's. By the end of it, Mizuki was simply a huge bruised stain laid out on the ground before them. Dispelling the clones, Naruto turned back to Iruka with a sheepish grin.

"Hehe, I guess I overdid it." Naruto said, laughing in amusement.

"Y-yeah…" Iruka glanced down at Mizuki, not sure what to say about it. Mizuki had been his friend, his ally, his teaching companion. And now he was a traitor to Konoha, and his enemy. He didn't –

"Oi! Let me go!"

Iruka and Naruto turned in confusion at the sound of 'Naruto' struggling. To their shock, 'demon' Naruto was being held by another of the unique clones. He had picked up a kunai, likely one of those that had hit Iruka from before, and looked like he'd been advancing on Mizuki with it.

"He deserves it!" 'Demon' Naruto said, his teeth bared as he tried to yank out of their grip.

"Get ahold of yourself!" The clone who'd gotten ahold of 'demon' Naruto from behind shouted. "Killing Mizuki won't help, it'll only put blood on Naruto's hands!"

"He deserves it! He used him!" He let loose a feral scream as he worked on of his arms free. Before he could completely break free, the 'emotionless' clone stepped forward and placed his hands on his shoulders.

"Let him go. He's not worth it."

Something about the deadpanned, unimpressed tone seemed to get through to him. Taking deep breaths, he held up his hands and dropped the kunai. "Fine. Whatever. I'll let him go…but if they don't do anything with him –"

"That's not for us to decide." 'Emotionless' Naruto said. Glancing back to Iruka, he bowed slightly to him. "Sorry about that. He's…well, we're still figuring things out. This is all…new to us."

"I…I see." Iruka said, unsure what to think of this close. None of them were quite the hyperactive kid he'd grown to know. None of his mannerisms seemed present despite them looking exactly like their original. They truly were their own individual people.

"Alright guys." 'Monster' Naruto punched a fist into his palm, taking a deep breath. "Time for the difficult part of all this…"

The clones all looked at each other worriedly, each of them shuffling and shifting around nervously. Then, with a groan of exasperation, they all held their hands in the ram seal and suddenly dispelled themselves like regular clones. Naruto's eyes widened and he began looking around wildly. After a moment, his eyes widened and he began rubbing his head. Iruka, despite not knowing exactly what was going on, had more than a decent idea as to what had happened.

" _They're all in his head now?"_ Iruka thought to himself, wincing at the thought of having five other people in one's head. That wasn't even including however the Kyuubi interacted with Naruto; something he was fairly certain no one but Naruto could know about…though hopefully it was something he didn't know about currently.

Staring at Naruto, he idly realized that Naruto had, in a way, performed the last requirement for the Genin exam that he'd needed to do to become a Genin. It wasn't the usual manner in which one might become a Genin, but it certainly qualified. With a small smile, he motioned Naruto over. "Hey Naruto, come here."

Naruto hesitated, shuffling in place as though unsure if he should come closer. Seeing the look on Naruto's face, Iruka frowned. What was the matter? Iruka hadn't done anything – then he remembered. He flinched almost as much as Naruto did at that. Naruto had heard what Mizuki had said, and likely thought that Iruka truly felt that he was his family's killer; the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

Moving over to kneel in front of Naruto, he gently placed his hands on Naruto's shoulders. "Hey Naruto, close your eyes."

He was hesitant, but slowly he closed his eyes. Iruka gently removed his goggles and set them down on the ground by Naruto's feet. Pulling off his own hiate, he tied it around Naruto's head and nodded to himself. Naruto reached his hand up to his forehead, prodding the hiate with confusion before his hand brushed against the metal and across the symbol engraved in the center of it. As he realized what it was, his eyes snapped open and he stared at Iruka in confusion.

"Why…"

"You aren't the Kyuubi…" Iruka placed both hands on his shoulders and gave Naruto his best smile. "You're a proud shinobi of Konoha!"

-x-

 _Back in the Present_

Kakashi nodded slowly as he tried to understand the details of what had been said. Thus far he'd learned a few new things; there were five fractured entities within Naruto's mind, two of them believed themselves to be a demon and a monster respectively, and they were clever enough to hide and move without Naruto's direction. While a startling thought, it was expected from fractured clone syndrome. However…

"So you're saying that none of them attacked him?" Kakashi said slowly, idly reviewing the information he'd been presented with. None of their accounts contradicted that point, which was one of the biggest points that he'd worried about. "But, what about the two more violent ones? Do you think they could be a problem?"

Iruka was silent for a moment, thinking for a moment before nodding. "Yes, but only because they're immensely protective of Naruto."

Kakashi leaned back, eye narrowing as he thought about that. Slowly he shook his head. "That shouldn't' be possible. Fractured clones have always attacked their creator upon their creation. Naruto…"

Naruto was a new case. Some strange kind of special case. For one, he had more 'fractures' than any other case that was documented. The highest most people had documented was three. However, that was then compounded by the other anomaly; Naruto's clones had defended him.

According to the few medical studies that Kakashi had read, the concept behind fractured clone syndrome was that, when people who'd undergone a tremendous amount of mental stress, creating a shadow clone could have the fragments of their mind overtake the clone's body. With the newfound sentience, they'd realize that upon the original dispelling the clone they'd 'die' and would attack the original in an attempt to keep from being 'killed'. Even though it was the equivalent of suicide for the clone, it was their first and last act of free will.

Something Naruto's clones didn't seem to care about in the same way.

Steepling his fingers, the Hokage closed his eyes and sighed. "There are some ways to heal it, but the only person who's ever had even moderate success in healing it was Tsunade. While people asked how she did it, she said it was a…private matter and wouldn't say more."

"Wait." Iruka said, perking up. "That's because it's in his mind right? Wouldn't that mean a Yamanaka might –"

"That's a common misconception." The Hokage said, smiling softly. "While they can go through one's memories, and they can take temporary control of another's body, that doesn't mean they can heal a mind. That…" He looked down at his hands, eyes distant as he sighed. "That's something only the person themselves can resolve, which can take a long time to do."

Iruka nodded, then raised a finger to get their attention. "Can I ask then? What…what caused Naruto's mind to fracture?"

Both Kakashi and the Hokage looked at one another. Iruka had seen enough various expressions from children over the years to be able to notice how people learned to cover different emotions. He'd worried upon asking that they'd give each other looks like they were hiding something. Instead, they looked at each other with worry and confusion; which, to Iruka, implied something absolutely terrifying to his mind.

They didn't know what had happened.

-x-

"Wait, seriously?"

"I just told you it. Don't make me repeat myself."

"But-but you set Kakashi-sensei on _fire_?"

Kakashi's new Team 7 sat together sharing their meal and had decided to review what they'd done right or wrong during the test. Other than the fact that they hadn't utilized any teamwork up until Naruto's sacrifice at the end. Still, their discussion had apparently turned up a few other new tidbits of information that they hadn't previously known.

For example, Naruto had revealed that, yes, his clones were indeed solid. He hadn't given them everything about what had happened, but he had decided to tell them about the bare bones of what had happed with his personal graduation exam. That is to say, he didn't have to say much more than the bare bones due to the fact that he embellished and made each part of his adventures sound like it was its own novel type event. While Ayume and Teuchi believed him and were apt listeners, Sasuke and Sakure were more inclined to believe that he was overly stretching the truth.

Sakura had been extremely embarrassed at first to admit her failures to Naruto. However, when Sasuke reminded her that he'd failed to get a bell and had said that he'd tell them what had happened to him if she did, she opened up. It turned out to also be quite short, since all that had really happened was that Kakashi had locked her in a genjutsu (illusionary technique) that had shown her Sasuke dying and she'd passed out until she'd eventually woken and found Sasuke and Naruto.

Sasuke though had one of the more interesting stories. He'd been able to do more than Sakura, actually touching a bell during the taijutsu (physical techniques) bout he'd had with Kakashi. He'd then startled them with the information that he'd used a fire jutsu on Kakashi and had almost set him on fire before Kakashi had revealed himself beneath him and dragged him till only his head was popping out of the ground.

Something that Naruto still couldn't help but laugh wildly about each time he remembered it.

Sakura stared at Sasuke with a look of wonder. Staring into her ramen, she slowly began forming conclusion about what was said. "So, what you're saying is that you already know a C-ranked ninjutsu?"

"Hn." Sasuke said, more because his mouth was filled with ramen than to be dismissive. He didn't necessarily want to talk to them, but then he also didn't really care what they knew at the moment.

Naruto on the other hand was perturbed. "What? You mean Sasuke's known a super awesome jutsu and he never showed us? No way, I don't believe that! If I had a super awesome technique that could set someone on fire you know I'd want to show that off all the time!"

He leaned back in his seat, envisioning himself breathing fire in front of an impressed audience. The Hokage, upon seeing such an impressive jutsu, would of course be stunned into retirement and would pass the hat onto Naruto. Despite how confident he was that, his fantasy had someone butt into it in the form of Sasuke as he breathed fire and the hat was put in between them and they had to fight over it.

Turning to Sasuke, he opened his mouth to try to assert himself when one of the voices in his head pointed out a good point. _~Wait, you mean he's not a complete show off? ~_

"Wait, so you aren't a complete show off?" Naruto hadn't meant to voice the question, but it slipped out before he could think twice about it.

Sasuke glanced at him with a bemused smirk, finishing his ramen pleasantly. "Well, not all of us can be as flashy as you are Naruto."

"But-but Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said, a thought suddenly occurring to her. "If you had shown that, couldn't you have graduated early?"

Sasuke paused, slowly poking his chopsticks into his bowl. "I could've. I checked, several times. But…I didn't want everyone to look at me like that anymore. I'm not him."

"Not…him?"

"The man I need to kill."

Naruto and Sakura winced at that, clearly not enjoying the idea that Sasuke was already so dedicated to something so dark. He was fresh out of the Academy, but then he was also a 'genius' as the teachers proclaimed. Perhaps his desire to hunt someone down was what set him apart from the other students?

"Well…I'm glad you didn't." Naruto said after a bit. Getting a curious look from both of his teammates, he grinned. "If you were a Genin before us, you might've been my rival for becoming Hokage, and while I could totally beat you, I don't need more competition than oji-san!"

Sasuke and Sakura took a second to process that. Sakura reacted first, scowling at Naruto. "Naruto! Show more respect for the Sandaime!"

"Heh, dobe." Sasuke muttered, eyes distant as he began sipping on the broth.

"Huh? You say something teme?"

"At least you set your goals high."

Naruto paused at that, staring at Sasuke skeptically. What angle was he playing at? But, seeing the look on Sasuke's face, while it was difficult to read, he seemed genuine about it. Like, he actually seemed to believe that Naruto was actually doing something mildly intelligent.

"Although," Sasuke continued, glancing to Naruto. "I think _he_ might be as strong as any kage…maybe even stronger."

Naruto froze at that, thinking over that. Someone stronger than the Hokage? Blasphemy! Sure, he was old and fragile looking, but he was plenty strong! But, _he_ was trying to become stronger than the Hokage, so it might be possible for someone else to get stronger than him. But the idea that Sasuke was trying to become stronger than the Hokage, if inadvertently, made Naruto's head spin.

 _*To be fair, he didn't specifically say the Hokage. But, if he's aiming to become stronger than him…*_

Naruto perked up, thinking about something. Of _course_ Sasuke would say that his goals seemed high; the other goal that he'd heard from Naruto was that he wanted a swimming pools worth of ramen. Or was it just a giant bowl? He couldn't remember. That didn't matter though, because he'd done something mildly impressive; he'd gotten Sasuke's attention, and perhaps a measure of respect from him as well.

" _ **Hehe, so he wanted to be that strong? Why not make it a challenge then?"**_

" _A challenge? What do you…oh. Oh I see. That could be interesting._ _"_

" _Huh? What do you mean?"_

" _ **Get Sasuke to aim to be stronger than the Hokage, and you aim to be stronger than his target. That way, you can push each other to be stronger and stronger till you eventually overthrow him and claim your superiority!"**_

" _Oh, I get it! But really, the teme?"_

 _~Do you think there's anyone who'd be better at pushing your temper and making you stronger at the same time? I mean Kiba maybe, but do you want Kiba as your rival? ~_

Naruto considered that, grimacing at the idea of Kiba being his rival. He was strong, and could be potentially a decent rival, but…he didn't believe in Naruto, and looked down on him. Sasuke at least seemed to take Naruto semi-seriously; enough that Naruto – and apparently his 'mind friends' – felt that he'd be a pretty decent rival.

Nodding to himself, Naruto pointed his chopsticks at Sasuke. "Alright! Then we'll make a deal of it! You help me get stronger than oji-san, and I'll help you get stronger than whatever teme you want to kill. Sound like a plan?"

"…what?" Sasuke stared at him, clearly not expecting that response. "You really think that you could do something like that? Feh, not likely."

Naruto stared at him, then – after some whispered encouragement – he smirked. "Fine. But if you ever lose to me, I'll just find and beat whoever they are first."

Sakura scoffed at that. "Naruto, if Sasuke still needs to get stronger then what makes you think you could? You're the deadlast!"

"Because if I get stronger than Sasuke, that means I'm closer to beating him than he is! Deadlast doesn't mean a thing now that we're shinobi."

While Sakura wasn't seeming to understand or give Naruto any kind of leniency, Sasuke was. Not much, but it was evident in the distant look on his face that he was thinking over Naruto's words. Could he get stronger than him? With his clones to aid him, maybe…just maybe. Finally coming to a decision, Sasuke turned to him. "Fine."

"Fine?" Sakura asked, perking up at hearing her crush acknowledging Naruto.

"Fine. If you could even come close to me that would mean I'm slacking off. But, on the off chance you ever do get a win, I can still rematch you to get my chance at fighting him back." Even he wasn't dumb enough to let that possibility slip past him, even for something that could 'never happen.'

"Deal!" Naruto grinned, punching his fist in the air. "Ah, this needs a celebratory ramen. Ey, Teuchi-san, give me one more bowl!"

"You already had two gaki!"

"Sakura's not eating a second bowl though!"

"She's not?" Ayame gave her a stern look. "Don't tell me you're on one of those 'diets' everyone has been going on about. They're unhealthy!"

"I need to! There's still a lot I need to work on to get my figure to look right." Sakura said with a huff, looking away. She didn't need a ramen chef trying to tell her how she needed to take care of herself.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you'd look better without looking like you're starving yourself." Ayame said, rolling her eyes at the girl's strange choices. She could give as much advice as she wanted, but at the end of the day Sakura was a shinobi, which meant – "You're an adult now, so do try and take better care of yourself."

"Oh, hey that's right!" Naruto said with a grin. Gripping his hiate, he shifted it a few times proudly. "We're adults now!"

"Of course." Sasuke said with a small smirk. "What, did you forget that part of becoming a shinobi?"

Naruto shrugged, taking another bite of ramen. "It wasn't the part I was thinking about when I became a shinobi. I'm more excited about the fact that I'll finally be getting some respect! Yeah, just imagine it; soon we'll get to fight bandits, hunt bad guys, save princesses, and more!"

"Yeah, sure." Sasuke said dismissively, finishing his own ramen before stepping away. "I don't need a second bowl, give it to Naruto."

"Eh? Aha! Thanks Sasuke!" Naruto perked up, smirking as he began ferociously eating his food. Halfway through finishing his second bowl, he paused and snapped his head to where Sasuke left. "Hey wait, he's just trying to get a head start on his training! That teme, I swear…"

Eating faster, Ayame preemptively got Naruto his third bowl before moving over to Sakura. Sakura for her part was staring into space, lost in thought. Raising a brow at the girl's expression, she leaned against the counter. "Ryo for your thoughts?"

"Huh?" Sakura blinked, head bobbing up to stare at Ayame. "Oh, well…it's nothing."

"Come on, you can tell me. Consider it waitress-customer confidentiality. Trust me, Naruto's to busy right now to listen anyways." It was true, as Naruto was eating with fervent gusto, trying to finish his food so he could race off and catch up with Sasuke.

Sakura played with her chopsticks, slowly putting them over her bowl and pushed it away from herself. "I just, I'm…concerned. They're talking about being stronger than Hokage-sama, and I'm just here…easily defeated by a genjutsu from my sensei."

"Hm, that could be a problem." Ayame said kindly. Taking her bowl, she tapped her fingers on the rim for a second before glancing back to Sakura. "What do you think of Sasuke? Really think of him?"

"What do I…" Sakura paused, thinking over her words before shaking her head. "He's got a lot he does, but he doesn't let it get to him. He's so cool and smart…he's perfect."

"Is he really?" Ayume sounded either bored or placating, neither of which Sakura took kindly to. "Well, he definitely sounds like he needed a challenge. Although –"

"Ah, that was awesome!" Naruto shouted, finishing his ramen and placing the money Kakashi had given him down. "Thanks for the meal! See you later, I gotta train!"

As Naruto jumped back and ran off, Ayame and Sakura watched him run before looking back at each other in amusement. "Well, as you can see, Naruto is going to be a physical challenge for Sasuke, but he's got a bit before he'll be the most intellectual guy, you know?"

Sakura huffed softly. "Got a bit? He's got a _long_ way to go before he can match Sasuke-kun's intellect."

"Oh? Is that so? And what about you?" Ayame asked, slowly cleaning up Naruto's bowls. "Are you closer to knowing how much Sasuke does?"

"W-what?" Sakura looked absolutely horrified by that idea. "I couldn't possibly be –!"

"Okay, but _are_ you?"

"I…well…"

Sakura thought about it for a moment, though in reality it was a moment too long. She _was_ as smart as Sasuke, smarter even – in terms of book knowledge. She could answer any question so long as it was something that she could read up on and study. She had a better understanding of chakra, history, and basic geographical knowledge, which meant she _was_ smarter than Sasuke. But only in those areas.

"Not completely. I still…I still have a lot I could learn."

Ayame nodded, seeming to readily accept that. "That's good. So, what are you going to learn?"

"What?"

Pausing in her cleaning, she waved her hand in a 'go on' motion. "Well, you said you have a lot you want to learn. So, where are you going to start?"

"I…I don't know." Sakura looked away sheepishly. Without the chopsticks, she found herself fiddling with her fingers nervously. Obviously this wasn't something that she'd thought of at all before, and being caught off guard wasn't a feeling she enjoyed. Of course, no one enjoyed being caught off guard.

"Don't worry, I'm not trying to make you worried." Ayame placed her hand on Sakura's shoulder comfortingly. "Naruto's enthusiasm just kind of rubs off on me sometimes, and I get excited to hear more about what people want to do. Plus, with a sensei like the one you all were talking about, it sounds like you'll have plenty of opportunity to learn a lot!"

"Y-yeah…" Sakura wasn't as sure as Ayame seemed to be.

Of the three of them, Sakura had only seen the fight against Naruto, which wasn't all that impressive as most of his motions seemed to be dodging, and then she'd been caught in a genjutsu. In fact, if anything Sasuke knew what Kakashi could do best seeing how he'd seen Naruto's fight, and then had fought him one-on-one.

That got Sakura thinking. Kakashi had gone over the three skills all shinobi know. Naruto was put through taijutsu, Sasuke's sounded like his had been ninjutsu, and Sakura…

"I…think I'll be trying to look up genjutsu." Sakura finally said, slowly nodding to herself.

Ayame paused and raised a brow at that before perking up. "Oh, are you're going to learn about it so that Kakashi-san won't be able to put you down again?"

"Mm. And I'll be able to use them against people if I learn any good jutsu." Sakura perked up at that, eyes getting a gleam to it as she thought about the possibilities. "Maybe if I get good enough Sasuke-kun will notice how much I've improved!"

"Probably." Ayame said, nodding to herself. "After all, the Uchiha were known for their skills with a lot of different techniques, but their eye-based genjutsu was legendary."

"Eye-based genjutsu?"

"You don't know? The Uchiha's Sharingan (Copy Wheel Eye) was able to copy other people's jutsu or using genjutsu, like I said."

Sakura took that in, staring at Ayame with wide eyed wonder. "So, you know about Sasuke-kun's family?"

"They were a fairly big thing, up until the Uchiha Massacre. People didn't always see them around Konoha, but there were a few who'd go on missions and such so we'd see them around."

Sakura's eyes lit up at that, though the word 'massacre' did catch her attention. "Can you tell me a bit more about them? I…Sasuke-kun isn't very open to telling me about himself, so maybe…if I know more about his clan, maybe I'll know more about stuff he'll want to talk about?"

Ayame flinched slightly, giving Sakura a sad look. "I…highly doubt that he'll want to say much about his clan. Things didn't go over so well after all."

"I didn't think so." Sakura said, trying not to look insulted. "I do understand what it means that his family was part of a massacre. But just…just to know what sort of things his family was known for, what he grew up in. Maybe that way I can at least be able to talk with Sasuke-kun and know more of the things he won't tell me himself."

"Maybe…" Ayame bit her lip. "And, it's not like most of the information isn't common knowledge." Glancing from the bowls to the clock, she sighed in annoyance. "Tell you what, come back in a couple hours. The lunch rush is about to hit, so we're going to be pretty busy. Once it dies down, we can talk, okay?"

"Alright!" Sakura said cheerily, hopping off the ramen bars stool and giving Ayame a wave. "See you later Ayame-san!"

"Later Sakura-san!"

As Sakura ran off, Teuchi slowly peaked his head out from the kitchen. "So, you're going to tell her what happened to the Uchiha?"

"No, just the little bit I know about them." Ayame started washing the bowls, keeping her eyes on her work to avoid looking at her father. "It's not like there was a lot of secret information against talking about the Uchiha."

"There isn't." Teuchi walked up beside her, washing a bowl slowly. "I just want you to be careful. You saw how that Sakura girl acted. If she becomes obsessive about the boy –"

"I _know_." Ayame said, hands gripping the bowl roughly. "She's…I don't know, she's like Naruto in her own way. But, maybe if she learns how to be her own person first…"

"You're worried about Naruto."

"He shouldn't have people who could get him hurt. He wants to help, but if he's always protecting her, who'll keep an eye on him?"

"He'll have his sensei, and the Uchiha doesn't seem to be too bad. Have faith in them."

"Yes tou-san."

As they returned to their work though, neither of them voiced the concern they still had for their best customer. Neither of them knew though just how many already had his back.

* * *

AN: Alright, 2 in a row, but don't get used to it! I only posted this one because I really, _really_ wanted to get through the whole scroll bit quickly as I could. It's fun and such, but there's a lot more to go over; including what I'm really excited for: telling you their names!

That being said I also want to thank **Twisted Pxl** for finally helping me put words to why I'm always skeptical about harems! Along with the fact that Sasuke is often bashed in those fics, if Naruto got a harem Sasuke would/should be allowed one as well. That being said, that all depends on if Naruto _does_ get a harem. So when voting for the harems, do keep that in mind as Sasuke would also be allowed the same. (please note, harem for me is usually 3+ people with one person, with 2 being a threesome, which I consider different)

 **Possible pairing**

Naruto/Hina/Haku/Karin 2

Naru/Haku 4

Naru/Hina 3

Naru/Tenten

 **Live or Die?**

Zabuza live/die: 4/2

Haku live/die: 5/1

 **Haku's Gender**

Haku boy/girl/undetermined: 0/4/1

 **Harem**

Yes/No: 0/0

If no one votes for it, I'll just take that as a "no", which would remove any pairing of 3 girls+Naruto or more. So keep that in mind faithful reviewers!

Until next time, thanks for reading!


	4. Scatter! Clones on the Loose

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I do own the voices in my head that influence me to write these stories. I – ooh there's a good idea. I'll have to remember that for later. What? Oh, you'll see. On with the story!

Chapter 4 – Scatter! Clones on the Loose

-x-

Later on Training Ground 7, Naruto stood in the training grounds again, kicking his foot against the ground. While he'd been training, he'd been constantly…distracted. At first that was fine, allowing him to test his awesomeness against distractions. However, he soon found that he was quite easily distracted as he would pause in his training to yell at the voices in his head.

Were he more aware of how insane that sounded, he'd have been glad no one was able to see him.

As it was, Naruto was becoming quite annoyed. He understood why they were talking and badgering him, but the constantly increasing frequency of two of their voices was driving him bonkers.

" _ **I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna!"**_

" _CAN I COME PLAY TOO?"_

" _Will you – just – for the love of – STOP!"_

" _ **Then let us out!"**_

Naruto slammed his head into one of the wooden posts. Hearing the laughter from the voice, Naruto figured they didn't feel it, which meant he'd just given himself a throbbing pain in his head for nothing. Scowling, he quickly dropped into a cross-legged sitting position as he thought that over.

He wanted to let them out – he really did! The only problem was knowing who was whom. In his head they all sounded like him, which meant only the _way_ that they talked was the only way he knew when different people were talking. Scratching his head, he considered creating clones again and just seeing where things went from there. It wasn't the best idea, true, but then Naruto wasn't really known for his 'good ideas' so much as his 'crazy ideas'.

Nodding to himself, he gave in and formed his hands into the slowly more familiar handseal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

With a sharp pop, five clones popped into existence. As the cloud cleared, one of them jumped to his feet and let out a whoop. "Finally! Freedom!"

All of the others stared at him flatly before returning their gaze to Naruto. "Sorry, it gets…frustrating when we're cooped up. Your head isn't exactly roomy."

"At least he can now counter anyone who says he has an empty head." Another clone said, shrugging when they all gave him a dirty look. "You know someone will eventually."

"Whatever. Weirdo's aside, it's good to be back in a body again."

Naruto stared between them as they began poking and moving around. Just like he'd thought, they were all…him. The only variation was in their eyes, and that was so small that if they looked away he didn't know who was whom. Looking back and forth from one to another, he soon developed a tick mark on his head before he threw up his hands. "Okay, hold up!"

Everyone went silent and all eyes fell on him. Naruto actually had to pause at that, taken aback by the rapt attention they were giving him. He was used to all eyes on him; his pranks had more than prepared him for that. What he wasn't used to was the real and genuine curiosity in their eyes. They _wanted_ to hear what he had to say.

Blinking slowly, he soon snapped out of it and jabbed his finger at them. "Okay, that's enough of that! Who's who here? I can't tell any of you apart!"

They all looked to one another, blinked, then turned to look at someone else. Three of them suddenly realized what Naruto meant and suddenly looked just as confused. Slowly, they scooted away from each other with suspicion in their eyes until they were in a wide enough circle to be able to see everyone equally. The other two sat in the center, completely oblivious to how things were until they were essentially surrounded.

"Hm? It appears we've been volunteered." The first one said, his deadpanned voice the only indicator to Naruto that it was the 'emotionless' Naruto.

"Really?" The other clone said, his eyes bright with determination. "Well then, should we introduce ourselves then?"

"…how? We don't have names."

Everyone face-planted at that, and Naruto's eye twitched rapidly. Apparently some of the clones had inherited his lack of forethought. "What do you mean you don't have names? What the hell?"

"We're you. We don't have our own names." The 'emotionless' Naruto explained, crossing his arms in thought. "Though, to be fair, we already have our own personalities. So, there's that."

"Not helpful!" Naruto shouted, pointing at him angrily. "How can I tell you all apart if you all look the same? I can't just go giving people names when I won't be able to know who's who anyway!"

"Oh, is that all?" Forming handseals, the 'emotionless' Naruto was enveloped in a puff of smoke, and his appearance changed. "Henge (Tranformation)."

As the smoke cleared, a 'new' figure was revealed. Having the same basic build as Naruto, they instead wore a dark tan coat over an orange shirt with a black spiral drawn on the front. He had a pair of dark blue pants on along with the standard blue sandals. His face still had Naruto's whisker marks, but his hair was longer on top to the point that rather than stick up in all directions it fell down around his face. There was a small window between his bangs for his eyes, helped by his hiate, but otherwise the rest of his face hadn't changed much. (1)

"There, is that better?" 'Emotionless' Naruto asked, motioning to his new appearance.

Everyone's eyes stayed on him for a second before the other four grinned wildly. Putting their hands together as well, Naruto was surrounded by plumes of smoke.

The second clone in the middle of the 'circle' was the first one Naruto saw. His hair was buzz cut short, and his eyes were narrower than Naruto's normally was. He wore a loose black shirt like Kakashi's that came up to mid-forearm, bluish-black pants, with a pair of heavy orange fighter's gloves. With a feral grin, he punched his fist into his palm, looking eager to start something.

On his left, the clone twisted and turned and seemed to struggle until it somehow wraps the jumpsuit around their body until it becomes entangled and his arms are locked in front of him. While he struggles, Naruto takes in their appearance further. His hair is long, extremely long, his bangs almost covering his eyes, and his hair going down arounds his shoulders. His whisker marks on his face seemed…darker, more pronounced, though not overly so. The clone hummed softly, his eyes distant as the hiate around his head seemed to come loose and dropped around his neck, causing it to squawk and fall on its back, flailing childishly.

To Naruto's right, the clone had shifted and stood, his form remaining somewhat shadowed by the smoke as it somewhat obscured his form for a moment. When it passed, he was the most feral looking of the clones, with his whiskers darkened and eyes seemed somewhat formed into slits. He wore an open black vest with a fur lined collar over a skintight black shirt, skintight black pants with an orange belt that had his hiate as the belt's buckle. (2) His hair was longer, shaggier, but only slightly more so than Naruto's own unlike the clone on Naruto's right. Cracking his neck, the clone put his hands on his hips proudly, clearly pleased that his dramatic actions had held some effect. On the back of the clone's left hand was the kanji for 'oni' or 'demon' – likely the one who'd said he'd be a demon during the fight with Mizuki.

The final clone across from Naruto –

"Holy crap you're a girl!"

Was a girl. Similar somewhat to Naruto's Oiroke no Jutsu (Sexy technique) in that she was a girl with pigtails, there wasn't much else besides that to put the two together. Unlike the intentionally exaggerated proportions of the jutsu, she was more 'normal'. Her hair was done up in pigtails, but unlike those of the jutsu hers were tied at the base of her neck rather than the top of her head. She wore a loose blue shirt that – somewhat surprisingly – covered her entire chest without revealing anything. She had an orange miniskirt that were she standing it would barely reach her fingertips in its length, and wore her hiate around her leg over her weapons pouch.

Naruto glanced between them all, the girl Naruto one that kept grabbing his attention. He had _not_ expected that at all, so he ended up gawking for a moment before the emotionless Naruto finally spoke up. "Well, we're here, and we look different. Is this better?"

Naruto nodded numbly, unsure if he should believe his eyes. Then again, they were all using a henge; why shouldn't they be allowed to look as they wanted? If one of them wanted to look like a girl, that was for them to decide.

"Hey!" The other, more exuberant clone with the fighter's gloves said, moving forwards and slapping an arm around Naruto. "Good to see ya! Nice choice on ramen by the way, big fan. Ah, it tasted so delicious~"

"Eh?" Naruto asked (such an intelligent question) as he put two and two together. "Oi, was that why it took me so long to eat my food? Sasuke got ahead start on training because of that!"

"Hm? Well, yeah kinda. Sorry, it's just not something we get to experience much, and~ I'm not sure how much we'd even be able to do seeing how we're…well we're in clone bodies."

Naruto deadpanned at that. "Yeah, I noticed." Crossing his arms, he frowned further as he looked between them all. "So…you're all me."

"Yup." The demon Naruto said, pulling on his vest as he looked it over.

"And you want me to…give you all names?"

"Whatever you feel is best." The emotionless clone said, eyes never leaving him.

Naruto slowly looked over them, he leaned back and hummed. Putting a moment's worth of thought into it, he suddenly perked up and grinned. "alright, I got it!"

All of the clones looked at him expectantly, the one on his shoulder moving off him to sit back in the middle of the circle eagerly. "Eh? Well come on, don't keep us in the dark! What are they?"

Since he'd spoken first, Naruto jabbed his finger at him with a proud and pleased grin. "Tonkotsu!"

"…what?"

Pointing to the clone next to the newly dubbed Tonkotsu, Naruto continued. "Negi!" Turning to the demon Naruto, he paused for a second before nodding to himself. "Memna."

"…are you kidding me?"

Once more ignoring the stunned expression on his clones faces, he pointed to the girl Naruto across from him. "You'll be…Miso! And…" Looking at the flailing clone on the ground, Naruto blinked before shrugging. "He can be Shoyu."

For another moment there was silence.

"Did-did you just name us all after ramen?" Miso asked, looking between the other clones. "Did he just name us after ramen?"

"This dude is a frickin' genius." Tonkotsu said, eyes glinting before he rose with a roar. "I am the might 'pork legged' ramen!? Yes!"

"I see no issues with the name Negi." Negi said, shrugging absently.

"He's an idiot." Memna said, his smirk having quickly fallen to a scowl. After a couple seconds though, he flopped down next to the others and huffed. "But it's not like I have any better ideas right now. If I think of anything, I'll kick your ass later."

"Well it could be okay, but…Miso? Really?" Miso asked, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "Honestly, you just thought of the first thing you could didn't you?"

"Hey!" Naruto said, jabbing a finger at them. "You said you wanted names, and those were the first ones that came to mind!"

"Because you'd just eaten ramen." Miso grinned, pointing at Naruto victoriously.

"…that's besides the point!"

The clones all laughed at him, but it was friendly enough and after a couple of seconds Naruto found himself relaxing and laughing along with them. It was different, somewhat relaxing to see them all like this. The idea that they were happy and were friendly was novel to Naruto, and he was enjoying the feeling immensely.

"Alright, so…" Naruto looked between them before his eyes fell on Negi again. "You said your personalities are different. How…so?"

"We are…" Negi started, pausing as he thought over his words. "We're pieces of you, given your memories, but with our own choices made over them. Nothing changed about your life in our minds, but we just…chose differently."

Naruto stared at him blankly, trying to process that. "…what?"

Tonkotsu raised his hand with a smirk. "What I think he means is that we chose different answers on a multiple choice test, but the test still ended up here regardless. Our grade is just different."

"Oh okay." Naruto nodded, understanding perfectly. "So, you're all me, but you're different people. So, what makes you different?"

"Oh! Oh!" Miso bounced in place eagerly, raising her hand. "Maybe we should do the likes, dislikes, and dreams thing that Kakashi-sensei had you and your team do?"

"…uh, sure?" Naruto blinked, glancing between them all. They all had a variety of likes, dislikes, and even dreams? That was new.

"Okay, okay I'll start then! My name is Miso! And since I only know a few, I'll just say my likes and stuff now. I like ramen and games! I dislike people who don't appreciate others. And…" Miso tapped her cheek for a second before shrugging. "I don't have any dreams yet. I'll get back to you on that."

Naruto nodded, glancing to Tonkotsu who was bouncing in his seated position. "Uh, can you go next?"

"Sure!" He slapped his hands on his legs, puffing up his chest. "I'm Tonkotsu, the future Konoha no Shura Monsuta (Fighting Monster of the Leaf)! I like fighting and kicking ass! I dislike cowards." Jumping to his feet with fire in his eyes he pointed as though at someone. "Stand and fight cowards! I am not one who will strike a foe in the back!"

Naruto blinked and perked up. "Oh hey, yeah I remember you! You were the one who kicked Mizuki and kept him from killing us and who grabbed the bell!"

If it were possible, Tonkotsu's chest got more puffed up. "Of course! I would never allow anyone to do something like that! I may be training to be a monster, but that just means I can do what I want when I want. Nothing will stop me!"

"Yes, because that tells us so much about you." Miso said, puffing out her cheeks in frustration.

Tonkotsu pulled down his eye and stuck out his tongue. "Nya, like I said. I do what I want."

"Oi," Memna said leaning over and smacking the back of Tonkotsu's knee. "Sit down. You're embarrassing us."

"No I'm not." Tonkotsu said with conviction, though he still sat down.

"What about you Memna?" Naruto turned to the vested clone, somewhat amused by the choice. It looked like he was trying to be a badass or something. Maybe he was trying to look cool like Sasuke? Better not mention that; if he didn't like that idea, Memna probably didn't either.

"Me?" Memna scoffed, crossing his arms slowly as he shrugged. "I don't like anything, I dislike very specific kinds of people, my hobbies are finishing a list I've been working on, and my dream is to become the demon everyone sees me as."

"People see you as –" Naruto started to say, the froze as understanding crossed his face. Looking away, he slowly nodded. "I see. That makes sense I guess."

The others all looked at each other, seeming to ignore Memna's hard eyes. Like Naruto, they all knew and understood what he meant by that. Hell, they understood what Tonkotsu meant by being a 'monster'. Naruto's memories were present in all of them, which meant every word said to him over the years was far from forgotten for them all.

"I suppose that makes me next." Negi said, nodding to himself. "I'm Negi. I like a challenge and learning. I dislike anything easy. My hobbies are pointing out the flaws in others. I don't have any dreams."

Naruto felt a sweatdrop go does the back of his head at that, not sure what he expected from that. Where had that come from? Turning to Shoyu, he opened his mouth to tell him to go next, only to realize that the clone had somehow managed to roll away and was bumping up against a stone monument repeatedly. "Um…"

"Don't bother." Memna said with a roll of his eyes. "That one's not alright in the head. He's…"

"He's weird." Negi said, starting at the clone as it continued. "Just ignore him."

"Um…okay?" Naruto winced at that knowing what it was like to be ignored. Still, they seemed to understand him better than he knew. Hell he didn't know any of them in any way currently. "So, should I go next?"

"No, we already heard yours from yesterday." Miso said, waving her hand dismissively.

"Oh okay." Naruto nodded to himself, grinning since that simplified things quite a bit. Pausing though, he tilted his head in confusion. "So, uh, what now? I mean, now I know your guy's names and stuff, but…what does this mean?"

"What do you mean?" Negi asked, unperturbed by Naruto's confusion.

Naruto slowly shrugged at that. "I mean, you guys are here, and you're…part of me? So, what do we do about that?"

" _You_ do nothing." Memna said, turning to walk away. "We're going to go out and look at things. See the world and everything."

"Huh? Oh wait!" Naruto moved to stand, but Memna was already leaping away into the trees. Turning to the rest of them, Naruto suddenly looked panicked. "Guy, we gotta stop him! He's…"

Pausing, he stared at a nearly empty field, all of the other clones having ran off after Memna. Over to the side, Shoyu kept bumping into the monument, clearly not realizing that everyone except for Naruto had left. Staring at the crazy clone, Naruto slowly sighed and walked over to them. He could leave them here, but somehow he felt that ignoring the clone wouldn't be smart. Beside…

He had clones to find.

-x-

 _ **Memna**_

Memna shot out of the forest, hands in the pockets on his vest as he raced around. He had no real destination in mind, just rushing through and enjoying everything. Pausing on a tree branch, he took a deep breath and sighed in content.

Freedom. Sweet, glorious freedom. Granted, he didn't exactly remember any time when he wasn't, but going from being a clone to being stuck in Naruto's head hadn't exactly been the most comfortable experience. It was like he was haunting someone and then losing control of the body that he swore was his own. Running his hand through his hair, he paused and looked at the kanji on the back of his hand.

Demon. The word had been burnt into his mind, repeated throughout his childhood by adults from all over the city. They hated him, shunned him, dragged their children away from him until he was left alone. All alone…and left to stew in his rage.

Clenching his hand, his face twisted in a snarl. He'd never forgotten any word that had been said. And he'd watched. Oh, he'd watched. He'd kept both eyes open, listened to every word, and gone out of his way to remember every one of them.

He'd even kept a list of the people of import who he felt should be remembered. Mizuki had been one of them. And he'd been so close, so very close to cutting his name off the list, to digging a kunai into him for his words. But, Naruto had held him back. He'd stopped him from fulfilling the vengeance that they so rightly deserved.

MIzuki had even _signed_ his death warrant hadn't he? He'd spoken of a secret that no one had been willing to tell him, and Iruka had certainly been frightened when Mizuki had mentioned _that_. But Naruto…he'd held him back. He'd kept him from killing him. Why?

Eyes still on his hands, Memna slowly blinked as he turned it over. Looking at his other hand, he looked between them slowly before he smirked and began laughing. One might call it manic if anyone heard him, but then he was alone. So he laughed till his stomach was sore and he was bent at the waist.

"Oh, of course!" Memna shouted, straightening and holding his hands up into the air. "His hands. These are his hands. My hands, his hands, it doesn't matter! Ah, I should've known. How can I just kill anyone I please if these are your hands?"

Dropping his hand down to his face, covering it and his smile. As he did so, the smile dropped, his eyes distant and aloof. "I wish I could've…just ended it. But until I find a way out of it, I'll play by your rules. You don't need to get your hands dirty."

Staring ahead, he smirked, leaping into the forest once more. "As the demon, that'll be my job."

What was he looking for? Well, to be fair he didn't really have any sort of 'plan'. He had ideas, and possibilities, but he couldn't do anything just yet. He had to get stronger, focus harder, and find a way to overcome his current 'weakness'. Perhaps find a way to crush foes without killing them? Yes, humiliating them might work. It would certainly make for something memorable, but it wouldn't make for an amazing reputation if he just left everyone alive right? He'd be called merciful but he would have a lot more people who would curse his name. The paradox of that was quite an annoyance.

But, with the current 'rules' set by Naruto, Memna needed to determine a way to accomplish that. There was always the Kyuubi –

Memna chomped down on his lips, eyes flashing with rage as he banished the thought with no remorse. No. Not the Kyuubi. If the village wanted to call him a demon, he would make sure they feared _him_ , not some god-like creature sealed in Naruto. Tasting blood, he spat it to the side, grimacing as he realized he probably shouldn't do that. Too much damage to his body might eventually dispel it.

Come to think of it, how much damage could his body take?

Hopping along, he eventually came across a long gate surrounding an engorged forest. Pausing, he stared up at the amazingly large trees, he hummed softly. "A gate? What kind of place has a gate?" Thinking it over, he slowly grinned and leapt over it. "Whelp, whatever is in here is worth gating off, so might as well see what all's in here!"

Were he to have gone a bit further around the gate, he'd have seen a sign that named this particular place as Training Ground 44: Shi no Mori, otherwise known as the Forest of Death.

Well, if he was going to try and find his limits, there were few better places to test them.

-x-

 _~Negi~_

Heading into the city without delay, Negi ignored anyone and everyone on his way to his destination. His mind worked with only the mildest of sluggishness, but even that was more than he wanted. There were to many holes in his knowledge, to many things he didn't know.

Unlike the others, he'd chosen to distance himself from showing emotions early on. The looks and words of the people around hurt much less when one ignored everything. It wasn't a 'zen' or a 'peaceful' mindset, but it allowed him to see things in their truth without emotions to cloud him. Regrettably, there was one issue with his mind that he currently needed to fix.

Naruto hadn't studied. That wasn't to say Naruto hadn't tried, but he'd been frustrated, impatient, and as such Naruto had missed out on learning a great deal. Negi could not allow that.

As such, he ducked and weaved through Konoha as he made his way to Naruto's apartment. He'd much prefer to go to a library, but without ensuring that he could enter without anyone questioning whether or not he was Naruto – which technically he was not – he'd considered and decided to refresh his memory of what Naruto might have forgotten. Who knew, maybe he'd find something actually worthwhile.

"Hey, is that Naruto? Hey Naruto!"

Negi paused when he noticed that ahead of him a group of three people were headed towards him. Going over the people Naruto had met, he soon put a name to a face. "Ah, Kiba."

Kiba strut up to him, looking him over curiously. "Hey, what gives Naruto? When'd you decide to grow out your hair like that?"

"Hm? Oh." Negi shook his head, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "I'm not Naruto. I'm Negi."

"What?" Kiba blinked at him, then smirked. "Pfft, yeah right. You think I can't catch your scent? I can totally tell that it's you Naruto."

Negi shrugged, staring Kiba in the eye unmovingly. "Be that as it may, _I_ am not Naruto. I'm Negi."

"Yeah whatever." Kiba paused, looking him over. "Nice transformation. I almost didn't trust my nose there."

 _~I'll have to remember that. ~_ Negi thought, shifting his weight as he glanced to the other two with him. Hinata and Shino, two other members of his class. Of course, who else would he be with? They were his teammates after all. "Hello Hinata-san, Shino-san."

"Ano, hello Naruto-kun." Hinata said, looking him over skeptically. While her eyes clearly said that this wasn't Naruto, she also couldn't just ignore the words of her teammate.

"Negi, please." Negi said, silently glad he didn't show his ire. "Naruto currently is elsewhere, likely looking for the others, so please call me Negi."

"Hm?" Shino's eyebrows raised slightly at that. "You mean that you truly are not Naruto?"

"No. No I am not."

"This is not a prank of some sort?"

"No, I have no inclination towards pranks, nor do I desire to be made a part of them currently."

"Very well then Negi-san."

"Hey, Shino!" Kiba growled softly, jabbing a finger at Negi. "I already told you, this _is_ Naruto!"

"True. However, he insists upon being called by 'Negi'. I see no reason to badger him, seeing how I cannot think of any way that this might be a prank or how he could gain any advantage from such a deception."

Negi perked up at that, staring at Shino idly before pointing at him. "I've come to the decision that I like you." He turned to Kiba. "You not so much." Finishing with Hinata, he paused for a second longer before continuing. "I haven't decided on you yet."

"O-oh. I see Negi-san." Hinata frowned at that, processing both the situation and Negi. She seemed to be rather perplexed by him, and it pleased him inwardly to note how little she seemed to get from it. Good. He wanted to remain a mystery.

"Really? You're just going with this?" Kiba asked, clearly unhappy by their attitude towards this.

"Well unlike you, they're willing to believe me." Negi glanced around, noting that he was getting fairly close to Naruto's apartment.

…only to remember that Naruto had the key.

Oh he technically had it as well, but that was when he was untransformed. While that could be an easy fix, he didn't really want to dispel the transformation. He was unique, his own person for once, and it was an experience. That, and with the way Kiba and his team reacted to him, it would be a challenge to prove to them that he truly wasn't just Naruto.

And he loved a challenge.

"Whatever, I'm still calling you Naruto." Kiba growled, glancing up at Negi's forehead. "Heh, so you got done with your test?"

"Hm?" Negi asked before noticing his gaze. Reaching up, he shifted the hiate, moving his hair slightly to allow it to be shown more prominently. "Of course. Neither Naruto nor myself would've come around for quite a while if we'd failed. And it was such a simple test too."

"Simple?" Kiba asked, raising a brow at that? "Kurenai-sensei had us almost pit against each other to fight over the two bells she had. It was crazy!"

"It wasn't so bad." Hinata said, recalling how she'd gotten them out of a few genjutsu binds. "Her test of our skills was the hardest part, especially the genjutsu."

"Why is that?" Negi asked, recalling how Kakashi had removed Sakura from the equation with one jutsu.

Hinata seemed startled a bit at his question, but she relaxed after a second. "Because Kurenai-sensei is a genjutsu specialist. She did show that she's skilled in taijutsu, and has a few ninjutsu as well, but her genjutsu was quite difficult to get around at times."

"You're telling me." Kiba scowled, with Akamaru suddenly poking his head out from under Kiba's hood to bark in acknowledgement. "She knew how to lay down a bunch of trick sot affect my smell so it was harder to find her. Luckily we all know how to dispel genjutsu, and Hinata could see through the rest."

Negi almost asked how that was, but stopped himself. Unveiling such a glaring weakness in himself was unveiling one in Naruto. While it likely wasn't unknown to anyone who gave it half a moment's worth of thought, handing that information over to them thoughtlessly wouldn't do him any good.

The pause also allowed him to see the clear embarrassment from Hinata. "It's not that big a thing. Anyone with enough skill would've been able to dispel the genjutsu."

"Not everyone." Negi said after a moment, remembering Sakura's reaction. "Sakura got caught in one and passed out."

"Wait seriously?" Kiba asked, eyes lighting up with a familiar light. "Oh this I've gotta hear this!"

Despite himself, he felt the mischievous he 'inherited' from Naruto rising to the surface. Grinning inwardly, he decided he could give the apartment a look later. First and foremost, he wanted to have some fun. He should also try to get some more information on them as well, but…later. Definitely later.

Besides, he still had plenty of time to have fun. Why waste such a good opportunity?

-x-

 _Tonkotsu_

When he'd started running off, Tonkotsu had a clear cut idea. Find an empty training ground, and figure out what he could/couldn't do, then train until he passed out. Or dispelled, whichever came first. Unless it didn't, which would be weird, but then thinking and considering things like that wasn't big on his 'to do' list.

Tonkotsu was a fighter. He'd watched so many loses in hand-to-hand combat turning the Academy, and yet he'd also noted that there had been more than a few times when he'd out sped chunin and pulled of nearly impressive fighting feats. Not supremely great ones, but hey he wasn't going to judge.

However, shortly after going through Training Ground 7, he'd eventually heard the most inspiring shouts he'd ever heard. Such gusto, such enthusiasm. Who could be the source of such a thing?

Leaping through the trees, he looked around wildly for the source. Come on now, where could it be? Where – oh look, there they are.

Down in a clearing where another training field was, a young man was striking a log repeatedly, each strike punctuated by boisterous shouts. There were two others in the field as well; girls maybe? But while the one girl was throwing weapons – which he found interesting, the other was doing a taijutsu style that simply didn't match what he envisioned as what would fit him. Still, that didn't stop him from leaping down into the clearing and announcing his presence.

"Yo!"

The noise of training stopped, and all eyes turned to him. Looking between them all, Tonkotsu found himself grinning brightly. They were all fighting specialists in one some way or another. Perfect.

The boy who didn't hold much of his attention – he could see that it _was_ a boy now, oops – had pale milky eyes, a near-white shirt, with long hair that was tied towards the bottom. He wore his hiate on his forehead, and a flat expression that could go toe-to-toe with Sasuke's best. Such a shame the two of them haven't already met…maybe he'd had to introduce them?

The girl had her hair done up in buns, a blue sleeveless qipao-style blouse with red sleeve trimmings and yellow fastening buttons and dark green pants. She had a weapons pouch tied to her right leg, which seemed somewhat bulkier than the average weapons pouch. In each hand, she was spinning a pair of kunai; not one in each hand, a _pair_ in each hand. It was rather impressive all things considered.

The final boy was the one Tonkotsu was most interested in. Decked out in a green jumpsuit with orange leg warmers, bandages wrapped around his hands, and red banded forehead protector worn as a belt, he was quite the sight. He also had a shiny black bowl cut hairstyle, the roundest eyes he'd ever seen, and very, _very_ thick eyebrows.

Staring at them, Tonkotsu tilted his head to the side. "…what?"

"Who are you?" The unhappy body said, looking him over. Clearly he didn't realize he was talking to someone who was unperturbed by his stare; he could stare that stare down with the brightest of smiles and the aura of a monster ready to eat him up. Well, eventually he could. He still wasn't certain how to pull that off.

Pointing to himself, he stared him down. "I am Tonkotsu. And you," He pointed at Lee. "I heard you training and wanted to see what you were doing!"

"So, you decided to jump into the middle of our training session and interrupt us?" The girl asked, perplexed by the weirdo who'd interrupted them.

"Yes!" Tonkotsu snapped his head towards her with a gleam in his eyes that made her jump slightly in surprise. "I am not the sort of person who'd spy on you. After all, if I was caught, I'd simply not learn a thing as you would mistrust me and that would simply set me back on finding out anything!"

The pale eyed boy let his lips curl in a smirk – so he wasn't emotionless! – when he heard that. "So, you knew better than to spy on us. That's good."

"Of course." Tonkotsu said with a nod. "Spying is a good shinobi skill, but even that has its time and place."

"Um, right." The girl said, glancing towards the pale eyed boy. "And you realized that it'd be rather dumb with a Hyuuga around right?"

"What?" All of them stared at him as he shrugged. "What? I don't know what a Hyuuga is, or why I should care." Seeing the twitch that was developing on them, Tonkotsu smacked a fist into his palm. "Oh, that's right! You didn't tell me your names!"

That held them up from going off on him in some ways. Moving to lean against a tree, the pale eyed boy spoke first. "Hyuuga Neji."

"I'm Tenten."

"And I –" The bushy browed boy seemed to be bursting with enthusiasm as he spoke, throwing an arm forward in a 'thumbs up' pose. "Am Rock Lee, Konoha's self-proclaimed Beautiful Green Beast!"

"Beast?" Tonkotsu perked up, grinning at the enthusiastic boy. "Haha! I like that. My self-proclaimed title is the Fighting Monster!"

"Oh?!" Lee's eyes lit up at that, looking him over. "Are you also a taijutsu enthusiast?"

Tonkotsu crossed his arms and nodded sagely, his arms clearly not defined as most taijutsu specialists might be. "I am one in the making. I have just become a full-fledged genin, and have been looking for a training ground without anyone there. However, you were here instead, and I think that I'd much prefer the company of such an excited training companion, if you would be willing to have me!"

"No wait." Tenten said, suddenly looking worried. "You don't know what you're –"

"Let him." Neji said, rolling his eyes at Tonkotsu's enthusiasm. He'd learn soon enough.

"Yosh!" Lee shouted, rushing forwards and suddnely appearing besides Tonkotsu. "If my most youthful of friends desires, I would be most happy to assist you in achieving your dreams. And if I cannot help you achieve your goals of this training day, I will do five hundred push-ups! And if I cannot do that, I will run five laps around Konoha – on my hands! And if I cannot do that –"

"Oi, Bushy Brows." Tonkotsu jabbed Lee in the side, getting his attention. "You say that like you expect me to fail!"

Lee's eyes widened at that, the comment causing him to grip his head in dismay. "You're right! How dare I speak in such a way that might quiet the flames of my new friend's youth! Please, forgive me Tonkotsu-san!"

"Lee…" His eyes darkened, as though he had something angry to say. Instead, his eyes were filled with determination. "All I ask is that you help me to achieve my dreams. And, in return I will help you with yours!"

"Of course Tonkotsu-san!" Lee said, clenching his hand into a fist resolutely. "Come, there is much work to be done!"

"Yes, Bushy Brow-senpai!"

Lee froze at that before turning to the logs, not doing a very good job of hiding the fact that he was very flustered by suddenly being called someone's senpai. "A-alright! Let's begin with five hundred kick with each leg! And then, five hundred punches!"

"Yes, Bushy Brow-senpai!"

The other two looked at each other and decided to let the two of them do their own thing. Neither one of them were going to deal with the insane training regime of their teammate/teacher right now, and so they decided to do their own thing for the time being. The training ground filled once more with the sound of training, and all was right with the world.

-x-

 _*Miso*_

Of the group of Naruto's clones, Miso had the least interest in training or finding anything to _do_. She just wanted to go out and enjoy things, to look at the village again and see if what she thought she knew was right. There was a lot of trouble being the clone of Naruto – a boy, and being a girl.

For example, she found that while she felt she knew how to carry herself, the more she walked through the village the more she could see that she didn't quite match how everyone else moved. She knew how to pose in such a way that would attract attention, but not so much how to 'blend in'. It didn't hurt her much, seeing how she wasn't really doing anything suggestive or forward to _try_ to get attention; however, as she watched people move, she couldn't help but feel that she was missing certain elements of how to move that others knew.

So, after walking around for a bit, she'd jumped up to a slightly higher vantage and just watched people walk by. Yes, it was clearly obvious, and yes it was highly likely that people thought she was crazy or weird for doing so, but she didn't mind. Seeing how everyone moved around was good practice for her, especially when kunochi walked by.

How they moved turned out to depend a lot on who she saw. Some, like the purple haired woman she'd seen walking by, walked with a lazy abandon, even with the fitted mesh body suit showing off every curve she had. Though admittedly with the trench coat, that would make seeing her body a bit more difficult. The black haired Jonin with the red dress seemed more casual with how she moved; less imposing or trying to stand out, yet still having enough coordination to make her seem to move gracefully through the crowd. Or the Inuzuka – she could only assume based on the red marks on her cheeks similar to Kiba's – who walked lightly, but briskly, as though constantly ready to shift her weight to her toes and run. There were also others too, but then watching her old classmate Ino walk was…well boring. She just didn't have any kind of spring in her step to make her catch the eye.

Although, she likely did know more about being a kunochi than Miso did.

Keeping that in mind, she idly weighed her options. On one hand, Naruto was a known prankster, and as such her form likely was one that was known to the girl and her team. Scratch that – they _definitely_ had seen Naruto use the technique; he'd been too proud to keep it hidden and had shown it to Iruka-sensei on several occasions. But that didn't mean they'd just turn her away right? They'd just think that she was Naruto running from some prank and was using his 'perverted jutsu' (seriously, with the variety of jutsu out there, how was it he seemed to have the _only_ perverted jutsu?) to escape any pursuers. Then again, Inio might attempt to hit her if she tried just jumping down to say 'hello'. How troublesome.

Down below, Shikamaru sneeze and glanced around, muttering under his breath.

Figuring that she had better chances elsewhere, Miso stood up to go. As she did however, she lost her footing and fell head over heels onto the ground with a painful smack. Needing a moment to take that in, she winced and groaned as she realized how hard she'd hit the ground. Weird, her body didn't seem to have taken much damage at all.

"Huh? Naruto?"

Miso glanced up, blinking as she noticed the large shadow looming over her. "Oh, Choji-san."

"Are…you okay?" Choji asked, looking rather concerned. It had been a rather substantial fall after all. Cautiously, he reached down to help her up.

To Miso's minor ire, Naruto hadn't seen much of Choji, which Miso thought was a shame seeing how nice Choji was. Nodding slowly, she took his hand and let him help her up. This proved to be not so great when she got lightheaded and needed to take a few deep breaths as she righted herself. Realizing she'd leaned on Choji accidentally, she sheepishly smiled and pushed herself upright off of him. "Thanks."

"Uh, no problem." Choji muttered, blinking and looking at her again. "Uh, why are you using a henge?"

"Hm?" Miso grimaced, looking down at herself. "Is it that obvious?"

"What? Uh, no it's not." Choji said, scratching his cheek awkwardly. "It's just, I can kinda tell that it's you since you look like your oikore jutsu."

Miso perked up at that, smiling happily at that. "So, you're saying it looks good?" When he gave her a nod, she punched the air enthusiastically. "Awesome!"

"Naruto! What are you doing?"

Ino stormed over, already deducing who it was as well and was clearly not happy with what she saw. How dare Naruto try to be a shinobi and then walk around disguised as a girl. One might take a moment to considered how silly that might sound considering how deception was one of the shinobi skills, but considering the look of promised pain in her eyes they'd be more concerned with running in the opposite direction.

"Oh, hello Ino-chan." Miso said, waving cheerily. She was not an idiot, but she also figured that running would mean she'd be chased, and that would absolutely ruin her day.

Ino paused in storming up to Miso, perplexed by the lack of reaction. Placing her hands on her hips, Ino looked her over skeptically. "Well, at least you decided to wear clothes on it this time. Still, what in the world are you doing?"

"I'm watching people." Miso admitted, glancing down to her clothes. There wasn't anything wrong with them in her eyes; if anything, she thought she'd done well forming the image of clothes that helped accentuate her figure without being a skintight body suit. "I needed to change how I walked to get it smoother. It's more a little thing, but I wanted to see what I was doing wrong."

"Well, let's start with the fact that you're a boy, not a girl." Ino said, lifting her hand to tick off reasons. "You've never had to walk like a girl does. And no one would ever take you seriously if you're still wearing orange."

"Hey," Miso scowled at that, looking down at her skirt. "What's wrong with it? I happen to like it, and I feel it looks good on me."

"Hm, maybe." Ino looked her over, completely unabashedly seeing how she seemed to presume that it was Naruto. "But not in _that_ shade. You don't even look like you're trying to be fashionable."

"I was just picking what would be effective and efficient." Miso said, shrugging. Looking Ino over, Miso smirked. "What does your fashion statement say? That 'bandages' are in? I doubt your stomach was injured in some way unless your test went worse than ours."

Ino flushed a bit at that, glaring at Miso. "It went perfectly fine, thank you very much! And –" Ino's eyes widened slightly before she grinned again. "So, you know about the test? How did it go?"

Miso linked her hands behind her head, grinning impishly as she decided to fill Ino in. "Eh, I was bored, Sakura passed out from a genjutsu, Sasuke touched a bell, and Naruto got one of them."

The first parts were about what Ino had expected, and after she mentioned Sasuke Ino opened her mouth to say something – probably something about how she _knew_ he'd pass. However, it quickly snapped shut at the last bit, which got Shikamaru and Choji to silently take a step back. "Wait…what? No, no that can't be right."

"You can just ask Sasuke or Sakura. Naruto totally got a bell." Miso frowned at that, remembering how it had actually gone down. "Actually Tonkotsu got ahold of it first, but Naruto was the one who had it in the end."

All three of the other genin looked at each other in confusion, clearly not understanding a word of what she was saying. Miso's smirk deepened, looking between their expressions. Oh yes, this was perfect.

"What, does not understanding confuse you? Kinda sucks when you assume things doesn't it?" Miso asked, rolling her eyes when Ino scowled at her. "And to make it clear, I'm…'related' to Naruto, but I'm not Naruto. I'm Miso."

"…no, you're definitely Naruto." Ino pointed at Miso in an accusatory manner. "Only he would try to name himself after ramen."

"…you're not wrong about that there…" Miso blushed in embarrassment, looking away with a soft huff. "He did name us after all."

"Troublesome." Shikamaru said, rubbing the back of his neck. This entire conversation as giving him a headache. "Look, why don't you try giving us a full explanation somewhere else? We're holding up traffic and we'd like to grab something to eat."

Both Ino and Miso looked around at that, noting that they were clearly _not_ blocking anyone since Miso had fallen to the side of the building out of the way. When they turned back to Shikamaru though, he'd already grabbed Choji and was helping guide him away from the two crazy women. Glancing to each other, they both sighed and followed after the boys.

-x-

 _Naruto and SHOYU_

Naruto silently debated on whether he should leave Shoyu behind, but again was pushing that out of his mind. Kakashi's 'those who betray their friends are worse than trash' talk had gotten in his head, and he wasn't going to just abandon that. Especially seeing how it hadn't even been half a day since he'd told them that!

That being said, it wasn't that Shoyu was terrible so much that he was impossible to pin down and then was incredibly inconvenient for Naruto. On many, many occasions as they were jumping along with Naruto, he'd slipped on a branch and fallen towards the forest floor. Thankfully, after the first few times, Naruto had a clone on standby to help him accelerate faster than Shoyu fell to catch him. The first few times he caught Shoyu just inches above the ground, but as they progressed Naruto began catching him seconds after he first slipped.

Idly Naruto wondered if that was what some protection missions would be like. Would they end up trying to keep some of the most clumsy, uncoordinated people safe from dangerous enemy shinobi? or would they be too busy attempting to save their clients from themselves? If it was more so of the second, Naruto was concerned for his mental wellbeing.

"Are we getting more waffles?" Shoyu asked. For the fifth time…since he last fell.

"No, we need to find where everyone when first." Naruto muttered, looking around with a soft groan. "Aw man, I let everyone run off and then they immediately run off! Why am I so stupid?"

"Is it me?"

Naruto groaned, patting Shoyu's head. "No, it's not you. You stayed with me, so you're okay."

"Okay." Shoyu said, looking distant as Naruto pat his head. Leaning forwards, he tilted his head curiously. "Are you our kaa-san (mother)?"

"…what?!" Naruto stared at Shoyu, an aghast look on his face. "Why would you ask that?"

"We came from you? So, you're kaa-san." Shoyu said, slowly looking more resolute about that.

"I…" Naruto had no words for that. Technically he wasn't wrong about that seeing how he _was_ in a clone's body, and that meant he was made out of Naruto's chakra. Right? Which meant that all of the clones were in some way connected to him like a parent to their child – just like Shoyu said. That's how it worked wasn't it?

"Hey, kaa-chan!"

"Oh don't you start with that!"

"I see green people."

Naruto stared at him for a moment, eyes slowly forming into a squint. "What? What does that even mean?"

"There they go. Bye green people!"

"…okay, clearly I need to keep you focused. Come on Shoyu, let's –"

"YOOOOOOOOTH!"

Below them, a pair of green clad people raced off, one looking substantially more winded than the other. Were they closer, Naruto would've been able to notice that the slower person had a very clear blond haircut. As it was, they were far away when Naruto noticed them, though thankfully for him they were just barely visible enough for him to realize that they were 'green people' like Shoyu said.

Blinking, Naruto slowly rubbed Shoyu's head again. "Good boy."

"Thank you kaa-san."

Hopping after the two, Naruto soon found that the 'green people' were much faster than he and Shoyu were and within a few minutes they'd lost them. Growling, Naruto tried to think of how to catch up to them to see if he'd seen them right. To the side, Shoyu was wavering from side to side before suddenly slipping and beginning to fall. Not even looking, Naruto gripped him by the front of his jumpsuit and pulled him upright.

…he'd fallen a _lot_ of times by now.

"Maybe if I cut into the city, I could figure out where they're going and…" Naruto shook his head. "No, that wouldn't work unless they were going in a circle." Gripping his head, he jostled his hair roughly. "Ah! This is so annoying!"

"Maybe if we ask the girl people, they'll be able to help us?"

"Not now Shoyu, I'm trying to think."

"Yes kaa-san."

"Don't call me kaa-san."

"Okay kaa-san."

Naruto tried not to let his frustration grow toward Shoyu. He wasn't at fault for this, and if anything he was just trying to help. Glancing to Shoyu, he pat the 'trapped' boy on the back. "Come on, let's try looking in the city. Maybe they went there."

Shoyu shrugged, allowing himself to be guided along once more. Naruto idly noted that he seemed to be stumbling less the more they ran. Still, he had to stop to drop down and catch him quite a few more times before they got back to the city.

Once they did, Naruto and Shoyu took to the rooftops. While the higher view gave them an advantage, the more slippery tile didn't seem to do much for poor Shoyu. Naruto eventually had enough of that and had a clone basically 'hold his hand' – even though both his hands were tied away in his jumpsuit.

Looking around the city, Naruto slowly came to a realization; he had no idea where his clones would go. Er, his 'mind friend's' would go. Yes? What did he even call them?

Smacking his cheeks, he tried to refocus. They'd given him tidbits to follow, and he'd have to work off of that and that alone if he had to. Except…

"They didn't tell me _anything_ useful about what they like did they?" Naruto asked, glancing at Shoyu.

"Uh…" Shoyu shrugged, the motion causing him to slip backwards onto the clone who helped prop him back up. "What about the book of learning? There are onions that like those."

"The book of…" Naruto stared at him. Was there any kind of sense Shoyu was trying to make? Unless… "You mean Negi? And…the book of learning? What's that?"

Shoyu shrugged. "I'unno."

Naruto facepalmed, dragging his hand down his face. "Okay, that still doesn't make any kind of sense to me. What sort of place has book of – wait, the Academy?"

Brightening, he nodded to himself. "Yeah, the Academy! It's probably not open now, but I've broken in there so many times to prepare pranks he probably knows all the good places to get in from!" Patting Shoyu on the head again, he grinned. "You know, I don't care what the others said, you're really helpful!"

Jumping to the next roof, Naruto began swiftly making his way towards the Academy. His clone paused, gently motioning for Shoyu to follow. As he watched, Shoyu's eyes seemed distant, almost as though he were feeling nauseous about something. Slowly though, he seemed to come back to himself and he hopped along after Naruto…only to have the hop be far too short and he almost flew face first into a wall.

With a sigh, the clone pulled Shoyu up and helped him continue on their way. It was going to be a long, long night.

* * *

1\. Think somewhat like Negi's hair from Maho Sensei Negima

2\. Think Greed's first outfit from Full Metal Alchemist.

* * *

AN: *cackles* Yes, _yes_ they are all named after RAMEN! I thought it was fitting seeing how the anime bad Naruto (Road to Ninja) was known as Memna. That does _not_ mean that my Memna he will act like Road to Ninja Memna; though there might be a few things that are similar.

I also have helped show who is whom among the clones during the transitions; so now when they're in his head you'll be able to know who's talking! Hurrah for some kind of continuity!

* * *

 **Possible pairing**

Naruto/Hina/Haku/Karin 3

Naru/Haku 6

Naru/Hina 6

Naru/Tenten 1

No pairing 1 (That vote was a surprise)

 **Live or Die?**

Zabuza live/die: 5/3

Haku live/die: 8/1

 **Haku's Gender**

Haku boy/girl/undetermined: 0/6/1

 **Harem**

Yes/No: 2/4

* * *

So far, it looks like Haku is almost certainly a girl who lives, while Zabuza's still iffy. I'll keep the poll for a bit longer, possibly till Wave, but we'll see if I decide to change that or not.

Also, **Superwin** actually did bring up another good point on the fact that Naruto's clones could possibly date people too. Whether romantic or not, or something else, it's something I'm currently weighting my options on. I have them currently with the people they are as both slight highlights of their personality and to show who they'll likely spend the most time with. They can swap between them, obviously, but their primary groups are there.


	5. The Various Stories of Scattered Idiots

Disclaimer: I don't know Naruto. What? I could? Well if you say so then sure, I'd be happy to download these clearly shady documents off the internet on this random unprotected website I found. What could _possibly_ go wrong? *And then bad things happened, The End*

* * *

Chapter 5 – The Various Stories of Scattered Idiots

For the first time, as Naruto stared at his collection of mind-made clones, he found himself with a peculiar feeling. His eye twitched and he stared at them all with a disapproving scowl despite nearly half of them ignoring him entirely. Yes, for the first time he found a new kinship with Iruka whenever he'd been forced to pull Naruto and the other troublemakers in the class to lecture them.

Iruka never would have guessed that sweet comeuppance would have come so soon.

"So, let me get this straight…" Naruto said slowly, pointing slowly at Tonkotsu with a twitch in his eye. "You got into a random argument, caused property damage, and then ran away without paying for it."

"To be fair, it was technically _minor_ property damage." Tonkotsu said, looking remarkably proud of himself. He still had some dust on his shoulders, which he seemed to be leaving intentionally on his shoulder just to piss Naruto off. "And it wasn't my fault."

"And you –" Naruto turned to Miso, who was blushing and avoiding eye contact with anyone. "Instigated the whole thing in the first place."

"It was Ino's fault!" She tried to say, but as soon as she made eye contact with him her head dropped and she looked ashamed. "It seemed fun at the time…"

"And you…" Naruto stared at Negi, who was completely straight faced about the whole thing over the scroll he'd picked up. With a groan, Naruto dropped his head into his hands. "What did you even do?"

"I embarrassed everyone." Negi said, a small hint of pleasure in his eyes. Naruto squinted at him, as though trying to squeeze out more information, but he couldn't get anything more out of him.

"Haha." Memna smirked and pointed at them as he spoke with a sing-song tone. "You guys got in trouble~"

"And _YOU._ " Memna flinched and straightened at that, suddenly sweating bullets at the tone of voice. Every one of them knew the tone and had the same reaction until they realized it wasn't aimed at them. "What the hell were you doing that made you dispel back into my head screaming about how you were going to have a rematch with, and I quote, 'you giant furball'?!"

Memna seemed to consider that, and Naruto could almost _feel_ the lie he was trying to form. Considering how similar the two were, it wasn't that surprising. Seeing Naruto crossing his arms, Memna slowly shrugged.

"I got ambushed?"

"By what?!"

"Would you believe, giant tigers?"

Naruto deadpanned at that. "Bullshit."

"But it _was!_ " Memna said childishly, rubbing his chest irritably. "I was kicking ass and taking names until they showed up and started beating me around like a ball of yarn."

"There aren't any tigers in Konoha though." Tonkotsu raised a brow, looking down at his hands. "I mean, if there were I'd be looking to see if I could beat one up myself. Tigers are badasses, and I need to steal that from them."

"Actually, there are a few habitat areas where certain animals can roam freely seeing how they're far too dangerous to have outside of a protected habitat." Negi said, looking over the scroll again. Naruto had almost forgotten that he had those still, but he certainly wasn't going to complain since it meant _someone_ got some use out of them. "It's not that far of a stretch to imagine there are some tigers around here somewhere."

"Really?" Miso asked, her eyes sparkling slightly. "Aren't they like big cats? Aw, I bet they're cute!"

"If you think pouncing out of hell to try and kill you 'cute' then yeah, they totally were." Memna rubbed the back of his neck, leaning back against the wall. "Being paralyzed for even a bit was a pain in the ass. Remind me to keep a closer eye out for plants that do that, it's too much of a hassle."

"It might also be a good reminder to learn to, you know, dodge?" Negi said idly, seeming quietly pleased to get an angry reaction from Memna.

Naruto rubbed his forehead, trying not to scream in outrage. So many things had gone sideways when they'd gotten away from him, and he clearly didn't have any idea what had even happened. Glancing back up, he noticed Shoyu trying to scratch at himself with his foot. Groaning, he motioned Shoyu over and grunted in wide-eyed surprise when Shoyu scooted over and let his head fall quickly into his lap. It was an almost endearing image, had Shoyu not put him through such sudden pain at the same time.

"Well, at least we learned a little bit." Tonkotsu flexed his hand, looking back to Memna before pointing to his black eye. "We can take a hit."

"I could've told you that." Miso said, rubbing her lip. "I bit it really hard earlier. It's weird how easy it is to forget how unpleasant pain is."

Having finally gotten over the sudden startling pain, Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, the stress of this all was unbelievable. And he only had to deal with five of them! Groaning softly, Naruto ran his fingers through Shoyu's hair as he gave them a flat look. "That's…good? Why is that good again?"

"It means we can surprise people if we chose not to henge first." Negi moved his scroll slightly, unraveling it further. "Kakashi-sensei showed us how shadow clones aren't supposed to take too much."

"…to be fair he didn't show us just how much they _could_ take either." Tonkotsu said, glancing back to Naruto with a grin that promised future pain for someone. "We should test that soon!"

"Later. I – _later_ Tonkotsu!" Naruto snapped, getting the overly eager Tonkotsu to pout. "I want to hear what happened from the top."

"Fine. Well, it all started when –"

"Oi!" Memna shouted, kicking Tonkotsu. "I wanna go first!"

"But my story is definitely cooler!"

"You got kicked in the face and almost passed out." Miso deadpanned, getting Tonkotsu to flinch and laugh in embarrassment. "Unless you forgot, _I_ was there to see it all. And personally, I wanna hear about the tigers!"

"Ha!" Memna leaned against the wall, looking quite pleased with himself.

"No, wait!" Tonkotsu jabbed a finger at Negi. "Come on, say you wanna hear my story first!"

"I want to hear your story first." Negi said, the lack of tone to his voice making everyone sweatdrop. Clearly he had no interest in either story; he was just responding so that they wouldn't get pushy with him.

Naruto shook his head, turning to Memna. "You know what, Memna, you go first. You'll probably have the least things to talk about since you were just chased by tigers –"

"Aw man!"

"So why don't you go first?"

"Booyah!" Memna punched a fist in the air before shifting himself as he prepared for the story. "Okay, so, I know what you're thinking; 'how did all this happen?'"

"The thought had crossed my mind."

"Well, it all started when I went on a stroll through the forest…"

 _ **Memna**_

When one enters the Forest of Death, one does so with the knowledge that anything and everything has the possibility of killing you. That's not to say everything _will_ kill you, just that it has the potential. And sometimes something simply having the potential to do so can be a startling when something actually fulfills one's expectations.

Except for when one has no expectations.

As such, Memna was not disappointed when, shortly after throwing himself into the forest he was swarmed by leeches. Not small ones either, but large, and very hungry leeches that appeared to hunt him. While he wasn't the most physically fit – he blamed Naruto – he was more than capable of scrambling through the branches with them falling around him. Luckily they weren't able to move very quickly after falling around him, which meant he ended up laughing wildly as he darted deeper in.

Then he'd struggled to dodge through tree snares; a large group of vines that, upon even the slightest touch, attempted to snap him up and tie him to the tree. There was a surprising lack of bones or anything of which to indicate that they were a threat, which might've been scary to think about were he not having so much fun. It was a giant obstacle course that if he failed would have obvious consequences.

Memna took a deep breath, looking at over the forest. The forest smell kinda killed the smell of bloody murder that was supposed to be there, but there was still an edge to it. Mysterious, haunting, and with the idle feeling of some pair of eyes on him at all times.

It smelt like his new stomping grounds.

Jumping down to the forest floor, his eyes snapped to the side as something rustled in the underbrush. Pulling out a kunai, he spun it idly before holding it in a reverse grip and took a defensive stance. The louder it got, the larger his grin grew until it was almost splitting his face. Here it came, what monstrosity was –

Memna deadpanned as a tiny little squirrel popped out of the underbrush, squeaking and doing cute things that made it look adorable. "Damn it, I was hoping you were something big and hideous as hell."

Groaning, he put his kunai away and knelt near it. Watching it scurry around, he held out his hand. To his shock, it simply ran up and scurried up his arm, perching on his shoulder. He raised an eyebrow at it, then smirked.

"Well, at least no one can't say you're not a badass. No fear whatsoever. I like that!"

Picking up some seeds, he handed them up to the squirrel who ate them with gusto. Staring at it, he slowly narrowed his eyes. This place had insects of death, plants of death, and…squirrels. What in the ever good hell was there just a random squirrel there? Slowly poking it, he frowned.

"Okay. You've got some deep dark secrets don'tcha? What are you hiding? What bones do you have in your closet?"

The squirrel said nothing – obviously – but it appeared smart enough to understand something of what he was saying as it looked at him. Or maybe he was just being drawn in by those big googly eyes. Dumb cute things trying to lull him into a false sense of security.

Scratching it under its chin, it let out a peeping-type noise before eating another seed. Deciding that staying still was boring, he pressed onwards into the forest. Looking back and forth, he kept his eyes out for any other sort of trap or animal that might attempt to jump and pounce on him. The more he moved in though, he suddenly found his eye twitching violently before he finally threw his head back and screamed.

"AH! How can a place so full of things that should _kill me_ turn out to be so damn _boring?_ " Memna shouted. Panting softly, he glanced to the squirrel who was still nestled on his shoulder. "What the hell…what do you _want?_ "

The squirrel looked at him with those big eyes, so innocent, so pure. He didn't buy that for a moment. He certainly couldn't prove it, but damn it all he didn't believe it either! It was acting to cute, and there was no way –

Memna paused as he heard something snap I the undergrowth in front of him. Turning slowly, he pulled out a kunai again and stalked forwards. Moving some of the brush away, he saw a clearing that screamed 'danger' and set his nerves on edge. Grinning, he looked through it, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

There was a group of tigers there, lounging and relaxing near a river. It actually took him a moment to see them despite their orange fur coloring. Their black strips actually did a pretty good job of camouflaging them, his eye slipping away from them occasionally before he'd caught sight of them. It was clever, impressive, and scary. If he hadn't caught sight of them, they would've…

Wait, hadn't he just screamed near them? Why weren't they reacting?

And then he recalled that he'd heard something snap from this direction. Seeing how all of the other tigers were over by the river that meant that there was another that had moved around. None of them appeared to have moved too much, though they were beginning to stir and turn towards his direction. When he prepared to move back, a shadow in the brush directly in front of him made him freeze as the form of a _massive_ tiger stalked closer to him.

" _ **Oh clever…"**_ Memna inwardly mused, slowly stepping back. His squirrel friend had leapt from his shoulder and taken off into the trees – _**"Traitor!"**_ – and as such he was left staring down the tiger on his own.

Well, no time like the present to see what he could do. Pulling out a kunai, he hopped back and shifted onto his toes as he stared down the creature, its gleaming yellow eyes seeming to pierce the shadows effortlessly as it continued slowly forwards. It did pause when it noticed that he hadn't run away, but then he had his moments where he was an exceptional moron just like his creator.

"Come at me bro." Memna said, spinning the kunai every so often. When it didn't try to hit him, he scowled and launched himself into an attack. It seemed unperturbed by the attack as it shifted its weight back and let the blade swipe in front of it harmlessly. "Oh cheeky –"

Launching itself forwards, it knocked Memna onto his back and attempted to pin him down. Using a quick replacement with a rock, he slipped out from beneath it before jumping at it from the side. Despite having the clear advantage of surprise, the tiger had been less surprised than he'd hoped and spun to face him. With blurring speed, Memna suddenly found himself flying through the brush and tumbling through them until he slammed into a tree.

Staring at the tiger, Memna growled and tried to get back up to fight it. He wasn't down for the count yet! He…he…couldn't feel his body.

It was the most disturbing feeling. One second he'd been okay, the next his head had been hit by a tiger and sent slamming into a tree, and now he couldn't feel anything from the neck down. Blinking, the tiger stalked closer, seeming wary of him as it stalked closer. Memna scowled, wanting to get so much as a twitch from himself. Getting nothing from himself, he figured that he might've hit some kind of paralytic plant or something. One of the plants maybe? He'd have to check it again the next time he came back here, since his adventure here had seemingly come to an end.

"Well…this was fun." Memna said as the tiger hovered over him. Kami, he wished he had even one hand so he could flip it off before he left. "Later sucker."

Dispelling his clone body, he took some solace that, in the last seconds of his ability to see, the tiger looked completely and utterly stupefied.

 _Present time_

All of them frowned at that, staring at Memna as he stared at the ceiling. He seemed like someone with a wounded pride, but also someone who'd been bitten by a dog he planned to outrun the next time he saw it. Realizing everyone was looking at him, he slowly pointed at himself. "Is there something on my face?"

"No~" Miso said, blinking rapidly. "But, you found a place with giant leeches, evil trees, tigers, and…friendly squirrels? What kind of training area is it?"

"I dunno." Memna shrugged. "I've gotta find it again soon as I get the chance."

Everyone – Shoyu for obvious reasons – face planted at that before Naruto jabbed a finger at him. "you mean you don't even know where it was?"

"Nope. I was just randomly jumping through the training grounds till I came across one that seemed cool. I don't remember which way I went or even how long it took. I just kinda ran and ran with it."

"You idiot." Miso pouted, looking away from him, clearly disgruntled. "I wanted to see the tigers…now I have to wait."

"Oh come on Miso, don't be like that." Memna wiggled his eyebrows, leaning forwards. "If you want a tiger, I could –" WHAM. "Ow! Damn it my nose!"

Memna fell back, flailing as he held his face to keep from bleeding. On the floor, Shoyu had his foot raised where he'd somehow thrown his shoe at Memna's face. "Bad boy. No bed bouncing."

"Um…" Naruto blinked, staring down at Shoyu with confusion. Slowly, he pat Shoyu's head. "Okay? Good job?"

"Yes, good job!" Miso said, smirking at Memna's flailing form. Getting up, she disappeared into the kitchen. After a few minutes, she returned with a plate of reheated dumplings and tossed one to Shoyu who leaned forward and snapped it up. "Good boy. Keep that up and you'll get more treats."

Naruto raised a brow, pointing to the dumpings. "Where'd you get those from?"

"I ate with Team 10." She popped another into her mouth, sighing in content. "They were kind enough to let me take the leftovers home."

"Oh, okay."

"So, speaking of," Negi said, pointing to Tonkotsu. "What was it that happened to you? You seemed all too eager to tell us."

"No!" Miso shouted. All eyes on her, she flinched back in on herself self-consciously. "I-I mean, why not Negi first? He said he embarrassed us…"

"True, but that just means I have the most boring story." Negi rolled up and put the scroll away, now giving his full attention to the clone-girl. "So tell us, what's got you all flustered?"

"I'll tell you!" Tonkotsu said, slapping his hands on his knees excitedly. "It all began when Lee and I finished doing our five hundred pushups! It was hard, but we were barely tired at all as we finally decided to do an amazing five laps around Konoha. As we were finishing a lap, we –"

"Shut up!" Miso shouted, punching him in the side and getting him to double over.

"My spleen!" Tonkotsu yelled, groaning in pain. "Oh, I think it hurts more than it should!"

Naruto glanced down at Shoyu, who just shrugged before he turned back. "Uh, you okay?"

"Yes, because it's totally worth it." Tonkotsu grinned, looking to Miso triumphantly. "You can't stop me forever. Just take your lumps and let me have my fun."

Miso didn't like that, and she growled before shoving another dumpling in her mouth as she looked away. Taking that as permission, Tonkotsu straightened and turned back to the rest of them to tell his tale.

 _Tonkotsu_ _(also *Miso*)_

Tonkotsu was going to kill Naruto. He was going to exhaustedly fall flat on his face, and smother the hell out of him. And then he was going to tie something to Naruto, lay on that, and get him to do this insane training Lee was putting him through as an apology for almost smothering him.

Oh he was having the time of his life with the training, that wasn't the issue. The issue was the fact that he suddenly realized that, while he was a clone and as such not Naruto, for some reason he still had mimicked Naruto's physical attributes and as such the only thing he wasn't struggling with was his stamina. He couldn't find any way to make his balance better or strength stronger, and he wasn't able to keep up with Lee. Lee, for his part, was very encouraging and simply increased how quickly he moved his legs to compensate for the lack of speed before eventually just keeping a more casual pace with Tonkotsu by his side.

Tonkotsu came to a startling realization as he ran around with Lee. Konoha, was big. Extraordinarily big actually. And Lee wanted to keep running around the village? Multiple times? And then do pushups and kicks?

Lee was now officially Tonkotsu's hero.

They even held a conversation for a bit as they ran. Lee told him a little bit about the Springtime of Youth, his teacher, his eternal rival Hyuuga Neji, and his usual training regime. While Lee did offer Tonkotsu several chances to talk about himself, he always made sure to have more questions about Lee to get him to go into another youthful bout of excitement.

In a way, he couldn't answer Lee's questions. His fragmented piece of Naruto's mind had integrated well, but it left him with only Naruto's information. He only knew things that Naruto had known, and as such he didn't know what it was okay to talk about or not. Towards the end of their first lap though, Lee finally asked a question he felt he was able to answer.

"Hey, Tonkotsu-san?" Lee turned to his running companion, not breaking stride in the slightest. "If I may ask, why have you chosen to become the self-proclaimed 'fighting monster'?"

"Hm?" Tonkotsu blinked at that, considering how to answer that. The memory of that choice was something that was more of a personal choice, rather than something Naruto had thought right? "Well, it's something that I thought of after listening to some of the adults in the village. They talked about monsters all the time, like they were afraid." He felt his lips slowly curl into a feral smirk. "And I wanted that."

"Eh?" Lee blinked, coming to a complete stop and forcing Tonkotsu to do the same. "But-but Tonkotsu-san, why would you want to become something that is feared?"

"Well…" Tonkotsu froze, the words on the tip of his tongue before he'd caught them. That reason was a personal choice, one that Naruto had long forgotten. While no one would remember it, he didn't want to risk the chance. Thinking it over, he remembered the other reasons he had and picked one of the less conspicuous of them. "There are some people who I…consider myself close to. My teammates in a way. And, they deserve someone who can help them who their enemies will be scared of."

Lee perked up at that, eyes shining with an intensity as he listened intently to Tonkotsu. "I see. You must be a most honorable of people!"

"No, not really." Tonkotsu stretched, wincing as he felt the tightness in his chest as his breathing was slightly difficult from the run. "I want to be a monster after all. I'm like, the pet of the group. Well, actually no that's Shoyu, but he shouldn't count. He's the…mascot maybe? No, that's not – I'm getting distracted. Look, I want people to see me as a monster because if I'm a monster no one will mess with me, and if they won't mess with me then they won't mess with them either."

"I see." Lee nodded, then he brightened with tears suddenly springing from his eyes. "So you truly are a hero for your teammates! You seek to become strong, so strong that people will recognize the strength you've obtained and watch as you protect them." Tonkotsu jumped Lee spontaneously burst into flames. "Yosh! Truly you are brimming with the flames of youth!"

"I…am?" Tonkotus asked, staring at Lee. How had he made himself immune to fire?

"Of course!" Lee's eyes lost their shine as he became serious, the flames dying down as well. "Tonkotsu-san, you have chosen a most noble of desires! To become strong as you can through hard work and dedication! No one can simply do as you have said, and as such you must strive with all fullness of body and mind to achieve your goals! Truly you have such an amazing amount of youth!"

" _I beg to differ…_ _"_ Tonkotsu thought, remembering how Naruto had been treated throughout the years. And yet, he was moved by the gesture. This person, who he'd just met, had such faith in him. "Bushy Brows…"

"Tonkotsu-san…"

"Bushy Brows!"

"Tonkotsu!"

"Bushy Brows!"

"Tonkotsu!"

Lee pulled him into a hug, which Tonkotsu gladly accepted with the fervent strength of a shadow clone doing its very best to return the strong affection Lee showed him. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. Wow, so this is what hugs and acceptance felt like. And it smelt like an ocean breeze, with the accompanying sound of waves crashing on a beach as the two of them basked in the light of the setting sun.

Wait, there was still a while until sundown wasn't there?

Opening his eyes, he found himself transfixed in what appeared to be some kind of sunset genjutsu. Freezing in place, he slowly looked around worriedly.

"…Bushy Brows?"

"Yes Tonkotsu-san?"

"…what the hell just happened?"

Lee blinked and let go, looking at the sunset before it quickly faded away. "Ah, forgive me. When the flames of youth burn ever so brightly between two people, the world allows a reprieve so that they might be able to bask in the flames of their youth! That way all those around who witness it might have their eyes opened to the strength of hard work and perseverance that two people share!"

"Ah, of course!" Tonkotsu nodded sagely. "Truly that technique should be witnessed by all, that they might choose to follow in our footsteps!"

"Oh god, it burns! My eyes, my eyes!"

Tonkotsu and Lee both paused at that, turning in confusion as they saw the Ino-Shika-Cho team, better known as Team 10, and Miso who was carrying a box of takeout. Ino was making a scene and looked like she wanted to claw out her eyes. Shikamaru and Choji seemed flabbergasted by the sight of the two of them, and Miso was too busy laughing at Ino's plight.

Lee's eyes widened as he took them in, suddenly shaking Tonkotsu violently. "Tonkotsu-san, Tonkotsu-san!"

"What. Do. You. Want. Lee?" Tonkotsu asked whenever he was close enough to Lee to be heard.

"Who is that?" Lee asked, eyes staring at them, not making any move to point out which one he meant.

Tonkotsu glanced at them, looking between them for a couple seconds before grinning. "Well, the one on the left is Pineapple Head, or Shikamaru, and the one on the right is Dumpling, better known as Choji."

"Pineapple head?" Shikamaru asked, patting his hair before shrugging nonchalantly.

Choji was less pleased with his nickname. Eye twitching, he glared Tonkotsu down. "Is that a joke about my weight?"

"…what?" Tonkotsu paused, seeming genuinely confused. "I was just referencing that you're filled with snacks, why would your weight come into that?"

"…fine." Choji muttered. Since he wasn't technically wrong, he couldn't quite jump down the boy's throat. Then, pointing to his eyes, he flicked his wrist towards Tonkotsu in an 'I'm watching you' motion.

Ino slowly regained a…semblance of sanity; enough to stand up and stare at the two of them with disgust. "How could you do something like that? That…that's a travesty to fashion sense and common sense! And then to try and have that sunset? No, just…just no!"

Tonkotsu glanced to Lee to ask him if he understood what Ino was saying, but to his confusion, Lee was still completely gob smacked. "Uh, Lee? What are – ack!"

Lee dropped Tonkotsu, who was still dizzy from the shaking he'd received. Standing straight, there was a clear and obvious blush on his cheeks. "Fair lady, I wish to know your name."

Ino blinked and smirked, flipping her hair out of her face as she turned to Miso. "You see? Boys love girls like me. _Clearly_ he can tell that you –"

"Ah, please forgive me, but I was asking the lady besides you."

Everyone went silent at that. Ino was completely horrified that, despite her more obvious feminine charm, Lee had seemingly fallen for Miso. Shikamaru showed a moment of shock, then just shrugged and let it go. Choji choked on a chip, seemingly torn between laughing and eating, requiring Miso to smack him on the back till he gave her a thumbs up indicating that he was okay. And Miso…

Tonkotsu blinked, squinting at her from the ground. Wait, was Miso blushing? She _was!_ Oh, this was going to be something to tease her about later!

"Ah, um…" Miso said, not looking certain of what to say to that.

To be fair, none of Naruto knew how to handle someone having a crush on him. For the boys, it would have ended up with them slamming their head against something incredibly hard for having missed such a crush seeing how that person would've been their best friend instantaneously. Even if they didn't know anything about them, they'd learn.

For Miso, this was magnified exponentially. She wasn't just a piece of Naruto; she was a girl with little to no understanding of how to be herself, or how things were supposed to work in this way. Naruto had taken not of how girls acted in some ways, but he also had his own opinions on how he felt about them. Some of those were things Miso had chosen to believe as well, but most were not which simply made her more confused about herself.

And now she had to add 'met a boy who immediately called me fair lady' to her list of things she was unsure about.

"Her name is Miso and she's my teammate." Tonkotsu blurted out.

Lee paused, glancing down to Tonkotsu before pointing to her. "So, she's one of those you wish to become a monster to protect?"

Tonkotsu picked himself up, smirking as Miso seemed to be trying to doubly process everything. "Well, if you think she needs protecting." Stretching he groaned softly. "Clearly you've never been hit by a girl before Lee. They don't need protection. If anything people need protection from them."

"Hey!" Ino said, growling at his proclamation. Pausing, she looked him over suspiciously, processing his appearance.

"Well he's not wrong."

Ino glared at Miso, then suddenly pointed at Tonkotsu. "Wait! You're one of Naruto's clones!"

"What? No I'm not."

"Yes you are! He's the only person with whisker marks on his face!"

"But," Lee cut in, pointing at Miso. "Miso-chan has whisker marks on her face as well. As does Tonkotsu-san."

Everyone else was somewhat quiet about that, squinting at Lee. Most of them couldn't understand how Lee couldn't make the 'obvious' connection. Of course, that meant poor Miso was now looking incredibly confused with her eyes swirling as she turned between everyone.

"It's clearly because we're teammates." Tonkotsu said, nodding to himself. "Clearly we have these markings as a symbol of our teammate…ness."

"Good save." Ino deadpanned.

"Yosh! That makes perfect sense!"

Miso was so lucky her first crush was a bit slow to catch on to their meaning; mainly because they hadn't lied about who/what they were.

"Fair Miso-chan!" Lee gave her another thumbs up, grinning with a sparkle in his teeth, giving them their first introduction to the 'Nice Guy Pose'. "Please be my girlfriend! I vow to protect you with my life!"

Clearly struck with confusion, Miso glanced between Lee and Ino worriedly. Her entire face screamed 'what do I do?' but Ino just laughed and stepped back, leaving Miso to deal with Lee herself. In Ino's defense, Lee was not what she'd expected out of a boy with how he dressed. It just wasn't easy on the eyes, that's all. Also his eyebrows were enormous and weren't enough of a distraction from his face.

Tonkotsu, somewhat thankfully, was a good enough distraction. "Hey, I thought I told you that I was going to be scarring people away from my teammates." Cracking his knuckles, he grinned at Lee. "That includes suitors."

"I see." Lee shifted, his thumbs up becoming an upturned palm with his fingers towards the sky and his other hand behind his back. "Then if you wish to make that as a challenge, I gladly accept."

"Now we're talking!" Tonkotsu said, crouching down before launching himself at Lee.

With the barest hint of movement, Lee batted Tonkotsu to the side with a speedy smack to the back of his head. Tumbling to the ground, Tonkotsu skid to a stop and rushed him again, growling as Lee made minor hops back to avoid his hits. He was fast, very fast. Grabbing one of Tonkotsu's wayward punches, Lee pulled him closer as his other hand shot forwards and slammed into his face.

Before Tonkotsu hit the ground, Lee shifted and brought his leg around in a strong crescent into Tonkotsu's gut to bring him into the ground painfully. "Konoha Senpu (Leaf Whirlwind)!"

The impact of the blow caused a small crater to form behind and beneath Tonkotsu, who stared at the sky with wide eyes as he was suddenly launched sideways into a nearby stand, knocking over a few cabbages before coming to a complete stop.

"Tonkotsu!?" Miso blinked, the entire fight barely taking fifteen seconds. However, her worry was more for the fact that Tonkotsu shouldn't have let himself get hit seeing how his body was that of a shadow clone. It was frail, couldn't take more than one hit, and he –

"Owie…" Tonkotsu said, slowly moving to a seated position. "That hit like…well a hurricane. Did you reall have to throw me into the stand though?"

"I apologize if I hurt you Tonkotsu-san." Lee said, holding out his hand to help him up. "But I wished to show my determination, and it appears there is still much training for you to do for you to catch up with me."

Tonkotsu glanced at the hand before accepting it, gladly allowing Lee to help him to his feet. Gripping Lee's shoulder, he grinned brightly. "Heh, to be honest I wanted to test myself against your skill to see how much I have to do. And I gotta say, I'm looking forward to the training I'll be doing." Pausing, he stared at Lee in thought before nodding. "Yosh! Bushy Brows-senpai, I would be honored if you were to help me refine my skills!"

"Ooh! Tonkotsu-kohai, I would be honored to train with you when I have the time to do so!" Lee shouted, gripping his shoulder.

"Bushy Brows!"

"Tonkotsu!"

"Bushy Brows!"

"Tonkotsu!"

Then they hugged again, and Miso felt she was certain that she would be eternally embarrassed by this moment.

 _Present Time_

Naruto nodded slowly as he took all that in. That was so much information that he didn't know what to say about anything that had been said for a moment. Luckily, there wasn't much of a silence.

"Haha, Bushy Brows!" Shoyu cackled, drumming his legs on the floor in amusement. Well, at least someone was happy.

"Yeah! I mean, they're huge!" Tonkotsu said, waving his hands at his eyes. "And they took up like half of his forehead! It was great!"

"I'm more surprised by how strong you say he was." Negi said idly, tapping his index and middle fingers together. "And, he was fast?"

"Super-fast! He smacked me in the back of the head even though I swear I didn't even see his hand move from in front of me!"

"I see." Negi pressed his hands in front of his chin. "That's…scary."

"Zoom zoom faster than the pretty bad girl (1)? Shoyu asked, getting everyone to sweat drop.

"…faster than Mizuki." Tonkotsu finally said, getting everyone's attention back on him. "He was strong too, able to kick me around no sweat."

"I see." Negi slowly put his fingers down, staring at the ground in the closest thing to aggravation they could see from him. "How is it…that Mizuki was weaker than another genin?"

Everyone was quiet at that, staring at Negi as they took that in. Looking to each other, they returned their look to Tonkotsu. Realizing he was the center of attention, he shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe he just tried to train harder than Mizuki. I mean, his normal training is five hundred laps, five hundred kicks and punches, and five laps around Konoha. I don't know what else he does, but I can tell you that he definitely deserves to be as strong as he is."

"I see…" Negi nodded slowly, then raised his hand. "All in favor of never taking a desk job say aye. Aye."

"Aye!" Everyone else said, raising their hands – except Shoyu who raised his foot.

"I'm tired." Shoyu said, his face scrunched up in confusion as he stared up at Naruto.

"It's fine Shoyu. Now, the aye's have it. We're never taking a desk job." Negi said, turning to Miso. "Now, what happened after –"

"Wait, isn't being the Hokage got a lot of desk work?"

"Hush Naruto, we have more embarrassment to enjoy. Miso, if you'd please?"

 _*Miso*_

After escaping from a second sunset…whatever that was, Team 10 and Miso finally managed to get away and catch their breath. Miso had managed to get Shikamaru and Choji to run with them thankfully, though admittedly they were following Ino who had broken out like hell in a skirt to escape the travesty happening behind her.

Taking a deep breath, Miso leaned against a wall and sighed. That hadn't been anything like what she'd expected, and the feelings that came from that encounter.

Unlike Ino, Miso found the jumpsuit endearing. It was a statement of someone who had nothing to hide, thought she doubted some people would believe that. His eyebrows were bit of a shock, but she found that she could ignore that after seeing how endearing he tried to be. She herself wouldn't mind it, though as she thought about it, that wouldn't do her any better than she was now.

As things were, most of Team 10 still was still completely certain that she was Naruto. It was maddening! She'd told them repeatedly during the meal that her name was _Miso_ and that she was a _girl_. However, Ino in particular wasn't willing to work with that. At multiple points during the meal she'd called them all 'the boys' with a pointed look at Miso. Choji was better, but he occasionally would just stare at her like he expected her to dispel and become Naruto again. Shikamaru gave up instantly and called her as she'd asked. She still felt he wasn't very helpful though seeing how he didn't help correct his teammates.

Still, Lee gave her a boost in her confidence. She had gotten better at the hip-sway movement that every girl seemed born to master, and she'd quickly realized how she sat had needed a tiny bit of work, though she eventually gave up seeing how she really didn't care how she sat since they were in a booth. The idea that Lee thought she was a 'fair lady' make her cheeks flush and brought a smile to her face.

"Oh jeez, that was so weird." Ino muttered, rubbing her eyes with her palms. "I don't think I'll ever be able to look at a sunset the same ever again. Ugh, are you guys alright?"

"Yeah." Shikamaru said, looking placidly bored. "It wasn't that big an issue Ino, they were just hugging."

"Did you not see the sunset thing they made?" Ino waved her arms back where they'd left Lee and Tonkotsu. "That was creepy! I mean, it's almost sunset yeah, but it went from zero to sunset so fast!"

"I think you're overreacting Ino." Choji muttered, eye still twitching from being called Dumpling. Who the hell just calls someone Dumpling?!

Ino's eye twitched as she stormed over to the boy, jabbing him in the chest. "I am not overreacting! It was weird, sudden, and creepy! With his bushy eyebrows, terrible fashion sense, and the other guy's haircut was terrible! Naruto must be losing his touch or something. That was actually worse than any he'd failed in the Academy!"

Miso felt her eye twitch, and she pushed herself off the wall. "Excuse me?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Well, _you_ at least are somewhat convincing. I mean look at you, you're try to be a girl!"

"I don't care about that at the moment." Miso said, stalking forwards. Apparently she was doing better than she thought at being a girl as her 'aura' became visible and caused the boys to scurry back a few steps to avoid the confrontation. Standing in front of Ino, she scowled. "I've taken you saying whatever you wanted about me, about my choices, and about my appearance. But do _not_ say stuff like that about Tonkotsu and Naruto!"

Ino raise a brow at that. "But you _are_ Naruto."

"No I'm _not!_ " Miso threw up her hands, trying to think of something that would help convince her that she wasn't…well, the original Naruto anyways. "And even if I was, don't you think that saying stuff like that to my face would be pretty _stupid?_ "

"Well, I was distracted by that…thing."

"It's called a sunset, and it was nice." Miso crossed her arms. She was happy that Tonkotsu had gotten a hug, and was curious to hear what was up with that particular story.

Ino stared her back, then suddenly grinned. "Ooh, do you like him~"

Miso froze, face flushing at the thought of Lee. Refocusing on Ino, she felt was able to ignore the feeling surprisingly quick as she remembered that she was supposed to be angry with Ino still. "Don't change the subject! You're insulting Naruto!"

"Well, I mean it's not like it's not true." Ino crossed her arms. "His skills haven't improved at all. And you have to admit, he –" She paused, then scowled at Miso. " _You_ , aren't that great at transformation if we can tell who you are straight away!"

Miso's eye twitched with each thing Ino said, gritting her teeth and trying to think of a retort. Shikamaru and Choji wouldn't be any help it seemed, thought Shikamaru looked like he was trying to think about something or another. In fact, he was looking back towards where Tonkotsu was, and then back to Miso before scratching his head and muttering. Troublesome? No, that wasn't right? Impossible maybe? What was? Everything that had happened was completely possible? She –

Miso paused at that, recalling the Academy and what they should or should not know. Clones? Yes. Transformation? Yes. Both at the same time, with one _not_ being an illusion?

"Fine." Miso said, acting dejected. Ino perked up, looking triumphant before she noticed Miso's returning smile. "If you think Naruto is so unskilled, then that means…you're worse."

"Excuse me?"

"Well," Miso motioned to herself. "If this transformation is bad, then fine. But if Tonkotsu was also Naruto, and could fight against Lee-kun without dispelling at all, then clearly we have some skill. Unless you think you can hold a transformation and make clones with physical mass that run around talking to people coherently." She flipped her hand dismissively. "But, you can obviously do that any time you want now, can't you?"

Ino scowled, glaring at Miso with her face flushed in anger. Of course, what Miso was implying wasn't lost on her, seeing how the skill required to perform such a feat was fairly high since holding a transformation after being hit was quite difficult since upon being hit the person _should_ lose focus and let the technique fall.

As such, taking multiple hits, with at least one hard enough that they should have had difficulty getting up again after it, let alone holding a transformation. Which implied that, Tonkotsu at least, might not have been a transformed clone. There wasn't a way –

Hm, there's a thought.

Putting that idea away for later, Miso basked silently in her victory, for all of two seconds. After that, she found herself with her head spinning as she picked herself off the ground with a small bruise on her face as she turned back to Ino who was staring at her with her arm outstretched. "Um…what the hell Ino?"

Ino looked just as surprised, though for a completely different reason. "Why didn't it dispel? Everything says it should, so why…?"

Miso pushed herself to her feet, eyes glaring bloody murder as she stalked forwards. Before she could hit Ino back, she froze. Not of her own volition, but from some outside force that held her in place. Her eyes darting wildly, she didn't realize what was going on until she saw Shikamaru raise his hands and she found herself mimicking his actions. How in the hell?

"Hey now, let's not do anything hasty." He said with the oddest hint of sharpness to his voice. Was he trying to reprimand her, or warn her? Following his motions, she was startled when she realized he was getting her to pick up her food. "We're all friends here. Besides, it'd be to troublesome to keep fighting since you clearly didn't dispel." Groaning, he turned to Ino. "Ino, why don't you apologize to Miso? It seems she was telling the truth after all."

"What?" Ino pointed at Miso accusingly. "There's no way that's not Naruto! I mean, everything about her is almost _exactly_ like his so called 'sexy technique', and –"

"My boobs are smaller."

"Hush you! And he clearly is trying to spy on us for some reason. I mean, why else would he show up in like this, and try to…uh…" Ino paused, turning back to Miso who had a growing tick mark on her head.

"Try to…what exactly?" Miso asked through clenched teeth. "I joined you guys for food because you invited me! I was just minding my own business before falling off that roof near you, which was completely by accident! And what would I want from _you_ Ino? In case you've forgotten, Naruto was always asking _Sakura_ on a date, not you."

Ino flinched slightly at that, her fist clenching as though she were going to hit her again. Thankfully Choji intervened, albeit hesitantly. Truthfully she looked like she might try to hit him too if he tried turning her away from Miso.

Shikamaru though had picked up on what was most likely going on. "Ino, do you really believe that?"

"What?" Ino snapped, eyes not leaving Miso's.

"That Sakura-san would be low enough to send Naruto, or any kind of person, to spy on you?" Shikamaru scratched the back of his neck, which of course meant Miso did the same. "Troublesome. Ino, Naruto isn't the kind of person who'd help Sakura do this, just to make sure that you don't get your 'chance to shine' as you've put it."

Ino flushed at that, getting Miso to blink in confusion. "Um, what do you mean?"

"I mean she thinks Sakura sent you to see if Ino had failed or passed the exam, to let her know if her 'rival' was still in the running for Sasuke." Shikamaru said, making sure to air quote "rival" seeing how he thought the whole thing was silly. Bad enough to have a regular rival, with the fighting and the competing, let alone fighting over another person. It all sounded far too troublesome to him.

"Oh." Miso stared at Ino for a second before laughing. It was not a happy laugh; more berating and annoyed than anything. "Wow, really? That's what – really? Is that what you've been thinking this whole time?"

"Well it's not that farfetched." Ino muttered. She relaxed a bit more, though Choji still kept a hand on her shoulder. "Forehead never was the brightest person in class."

"She was kunochi of the year." Miso said with a harsh snap of her voice. "Maybe not _practical_ but don't say she wasn't smart. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses."

"Whatever. Look, even she wouldn't be so dumb as to just forget about our rivalry just because we're all split into different teams now right? I mean –" Ino cut herself off, shaking her head. "Nevermind. Shika, let her go. I'm going home."

Shikamaru did let Miso go eventually, though he waited a moment to watch Ino as she shrugged off Choji's hand and stormed off first. With a sigh, he shook his head, watching her leave with a far off look. "She's still not too happy about that."

"About what?" Miso asked, moving her body experimentally. Being pinned in place by nothing was a very new feeling, and one she found she didn't really enjoy.

"…did Sasuke not tell you guys?" Shikamaru curiously raised a brow when Miso shook her head. "Well, after everyone was given their team assignments and went on break, we found where he was. And, despite our trying to talk her out of it, she went over to talk to the broody guy."

That was certainly new information to Miso. "What'd he say?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "How would I know? I kept my distance from them and just kinda watched."

"She didn't look to happy with whatever it was though." Choji said, eyes still watching Ino's departing form. "I think she was expecting a different answer to…whatever she asked. Sasuke didn't even seem to notice how upset he made her. Guy just, went back to doing his own thing."

"…I see." Miso muttered, rubbing her cheek where Ino had hit her. "And…well that was just yesterday. She must be taking it really hard."

"That's kinda what overemotional people do." Shikamaru paused, looking rather annoyed with something. "Though, honestly she's a little out of character because of it. Hopefully she snaps out of it soon. She's a bit of a drag when she's being bossy, but at least then we know she's okay, you know?"

"I…" Miso let that thought sink in, eying where Ino had finally disappeared into the crowed. No, she didn't quite know how that was seeing how Naruto hadn't known much about such things before either. Shrugging, she sighed dejectedly. "No, not really, but I think I get some of it at least."

Shikamaru raised a brow at that, but said nothing more about it. He'd apparently gotten what he wanted to say out, and had finished for now. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he walked off.

Choji however, paused and gave her a big grin. "We should do this again sometime. Without the whole 'Ino punching you' thing, obviously. But it was…a lot of fun hanging out with you Miso."

Miso glanced to Choji with a confused look, the grinned widely. "Heh, yeah I guess it was pretty fun. I still say I ate more meat than you did."

"Hah!" Choji smirked, a glint to his eyes as he recalled their 'bout' in the restaurant. "If you hadn't knocked my chopsticks around it would have been a sure thing. My meat eating skills are far and beyond what you could possibly imagine!"

"Doubtful. You grabbed a few extra pieces than me with each bite, but my chopsticks were faster than you could handle." She made a motion with her hands like she was snapping up a piece of invisible meat. "Eating ramen, whose noodles never give you a second if you aren't quick, will do that."

Choji laughed heartily, patting her on the shoulder. "Exactly! Maybe next time we'll treat you to ramen!" Turning to go, he gave her a quick wave. "See you Miso-chan!"

"I'll hold you to that!" She shouted after him, laughing despite the tense atmosphere that had hung just a moment before. Sighing to herself, she began walking off, though not before making an observation of a minor annoyance as she left. "Next time I need to remember pockets in this look."

 _Present Time_

The rest of them all stared at Miso with a bit of confusion as she finished relaying the tale, each of them trying to process what she'd said towards the end.

"So~ what you're saying is, Sasuke blew her off so she thought hitting you was okay?" Memna asked, his eyes somewhat shadowed as he spoke. He looked like he was ready to bounce back to his feet and go after the girl to knock some sense into her.

"I say we go show her how 'Naruto' we really are." Tonkotsu said, only to be pulled back down by Miso.

"Wow, that's incredibly pathetic." Negi said, getting a sweat drop from the rest of them. He certainly wasn't one to try to pull punches or mince words, that was for sure. "So she got blown off by Sasuke and she decides to take it out on others. Does she no know that's just how Sasuke is? I mean I said it before, he needs to make up his damn mind; remake his clan, or kill a 'certain man'. Also, does anyone know who says stuff like that? That's the most conceited sounding bullshit I can't think of anything more so. Well, I could, but I don't want to because it'd be impossibly boring."

Naruto blinked, trying to take all this in as he thought that through. And…was it just him or was he starting to get dizzy? Or was it tired, he couldn't tell. "Look, let's just leave Ino alone. Sasuke's not a problem, he's our teammate."

"Yeah, one holding back a lot of secrets." Negi said, rolling the scroll he'd been reading between his hands slowly. "I'm honestly not a fan of secrets like that."

"We literally have the Kyuubi no Kitsune sealed inside Naruto." Memna pointed out, causing Negi to pause. "Whatever it is, he can keep that secret to himself for now until we get something that actually is worth bringing up to learn his secret."

Tonkotsu and Miso glanced at each other, seeming to wince slightly at that. It was true after all. If Naruto wasn't okay with telling his secrets, then they really didn't have much of a place to dig into his secrets. Then again, their secret didn't affect the team in the same way, did it?

Naruto nodded at that, his head seeming to bob slightly heavier than normally, with more difficulty getting up. "Yeah…*yawn* that does sound about right."

"Oh come on Naruto," Tonkotsu said with a smirk, punching Naruto's shoulder gently. "It's not that late. Besides, you and Negi still have to tell us what happened to you two!"

"I'm not saying." Negi said, putting the scroll away before pulling out another. "It was a private matter of me telling all your dirty secrets and embarrassing everyone around who I could speak with. Hardly the challenge I expected it to be."

"…oh come on, there's gotta be more than that." Memna said with a scowl. "We told you what we did, now spill."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't under the impression that I _needed_ to tell my story."

"Why you little –"

"Uh-oh."

Everyone paused when Shoyu suddenly spoke. He was completely still, eyes wide as he stared upwards. He'd been remarkably calm and in control for the talks, not interrupting like they might've expected. Now he was looking incredibly distressed, shifting and squirming in discomfort over…something.

"Shoyu? Hey, come on now, what's up?" Naruto asked, trying to pat his head again since that seemed to calm him before. Instead, Shoyu just shook his head violently. "Uh, okay, what's up?"

Shoyu began muttering something, getting the other four to lean back slightly in discomfort. Of them, Shoyu was the least stable – obviously – but then, they knew the reasons why. In their minds, for Shoyu to begin whispering and muttering in such a way likely didn't mean anything good. Negi was the only one to freeze, as he was also the only one paying attention who actually began to understand what was hidden under his words.

Naruto, not knowing or caring, stared at the poor fragment of his mind as he tried to help him calm down. "Hey now, calm down, what's wrong?"

"Off, no more, stop." Shoyu muttered as he thrashed, his brow furrowed in visible distress.

"Stop? Stop what?" Naruto leaned over Shoyu to look him in the eye. "Come on man, give me something to work –"

Shoyu's eyes widened when Naruto leaned over him and before he moved, Naruto swore he saw a look of determination on his face. Then, with a spasmic motion, Shoyu launched his head out of Naruto's lap and slammed his forehead against Naruto's with enough force to cause Naruto to flip back and slam his head a second time against the floor before he was still; most likely unconscious from the sudden sharp impact.

The others all stared at what had just happened for a half a second. Then, they were all suddenly dispelled into clouds of smoke, and the apartment was left in silence for the night.

* * *

AN: Well, that's one way to finally go to sleep. But dearest Shoyu, would you like to explain why you - oh. Oh you're unconscious? And you're in Naruto's head? Well.

They'll find out about what happened soon enough, so don't worry about that. Actually, you might want to. The reason is actually a bit more dangerous than one may think (not mentally, but in another way). Cookies for those who can guess what it is~

Also, before anyone says anything about Ino, Shika already said it. Unlike in the anime, where after being put on teams Naruto eventually ran off and jumped Sasuke, Sasuke was left alone during the break. Which I thought was silly since Ino was clearly able to see him from her vantage and without 'Forehead' to get in the way, I figured she'd be all to eager to drop down at some point to say hi. The response she got though has her a bit on the bitter side at the moment, so don't blame her; it's only been a day after all.

Also Negi is lying through his teeth.

ANYWAYS~ let's see how the polls are looking!

* * *

 **Possible pairing**

Naruto/Hina/Haku/Karin 3

Naru/Haku 9

Naru/Hina 9

Naru/Tenten 2

No pairing 1 (That vote was a surprise)

 **Live or Die?**

Zabuza live/die: 5/3

Haku live/die: 10/1

 **Haku's Gender**

Haku boy/girl/undetermined: 0/8/1

 **Harem**

Yes/No: 3/6

* * *

From the look of things, people are fighting really hard between Haku and Hinata; both of which I can understand/respect. I've shipped Hinata with Naruto myself, though I am looking for other options seeing how often NaruHina is written. I'm still amazed though at how it's going though.

Also, after this chapter, depending on the votes, I'll have made up my mind on harem or not. If you can't already tell where it looks like it's leaning...the poll and the reviews say it all.

As for the story, what happened at the end to set Shoyu off? Find out next time! *cackles and runs off to write more From Darkness so my fans don't kill me*


	6. You Must Learn Control!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 6 – You Must Learn Control!

Team 7 met on the bridge, idly waiting for their sensei to show up so they could begin their new, awesome, action filled lives as full-fledged Konoha shiniobi! As they waited at the designated meeting area though, they realized that there was something wrong. For one, their teacher was several hours late…and so was Naruto.

Naruto, for all the things that were 'wrong' with him, did his best to never be late. Well, his best didn't include accounting for his pranks and for when he decided to ditch, but at least he would ditch class after showing up just to prove that he could. Which was, mildly better than just running off and not showing up at all.

Which meant that, while Sakura absolutely loved having every precious second with Sasuke by herself, she eventually became worried about their blond teammate. She wanted to say something about it, but…no, Sasuke wouldn't want to hear that. He likely would think less of her for bringing him up. If he couldn't be responsible for himself…but what about what Kakashi had said about teamwork? Was this part of it? What if this was a test of some sort? What –

"Yo!" Kakashi said, appearing behind her on the bridges railing with a casual wave.

"You're late!" Sakura yelled, eye twitching spastically as she stared up at their teacher.

"Ah, but I had a good reason." Kakashi said, pointing in a seemingly random direction. "You see, I was on my way when there was this little old lady crossing the street. So I stopped to help her, and she ended up dragging me around to carry her bags for her."

"Liar!"

Transparent as his lie was, Kakashi still grinned beneath his mask. It was so much fun to get reactions out of people like this. Despite his good mood though, it soon shifted as he looked around. "Where's Naruto?"

"He hasn't shown up yet." Sasuke said, eyes flickering in the direction of Naruto's apartment.

"Wait…so I'm not the last person here?" Kakashi idly felt rather upset about that. He'd allowed himself plenty of time to reminisce and come up with a good excuse, and now he'd found that someone had outlasted him?

"Yeah, he hasn't shown up yet." Sakura said, finally having an excuse to bring up her concern. "He's not normally like this. I thought you might've done something as a test, but…you were so late yesterday I wasn't sure."

" _Well, that's…inconvenient."_ Kakashi thought idly, realizing that they'd waited to see if he'd show up before checking on him. He likely should point out the folly of that later, but as more of an afterthought since they were technically adults and he wanted them to feel that he was giving them the respect that they deserved in holding that 'title'.

Thankfully, he didn't need to just yet, since down the way an orange form was stumbling along towards them. Wait, stumbling?

"H-hey guys! Sorry I'm late, I hit my head last night and I overslept."

"Lie –" Sakura began instinctively (ah, she learnt so quickly) before freezing as she saw Naruto's appearance. Or, rather, the fact that instead of his hiate on his forehead he had a bandage and…a leaf? "What…Naruto are you okay?"

"I'm fine Sakura-chan." Naruto said, idly attempting to wave her off. "It's nothing, really! It just hurt a bit and I'm a little dizzy, but I've had worse."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at that. That was doubtful, since his medical records gave him a clean bill of health. Or…maybe he just hadn't gone to a doctor about them. Which made Kakashi rather nervous, seeing how that implied that Naruto had kept information from everyone. That meant that whatever had caused Naruto's mental fracturing could be something that Naruto simply didn't tell anyone, rather than something he'd forgotten, which was perhaps one of the worst case scenarios for his condition.

"How did you bump your head?" Sasuke asked, raising a brow at Naruto's disheveled appearance. "And why are you doing the leaf balancing exercise?"

"Um…"

 _Earlier_

When Naruto awoke, it was with the most blinding of headaches and a soreness that seemed to be resonating through his bones. Rolling onto his side, he felt the cold floor on the flat on his face and groaned. Groaning and struggling to get up, Naruto found himself slowly rolling onto his back staring and staring at the ceiling.

"What…the hell hit me?"

 _~Chakra exhaustion most likely. ~_

"…Negi?"

 _~Present. Thank Shoyu for the save, we were so busy enjoying ourselves we didn't realize how much chakra we were draining from you. ~_

"What?" Naruto blinked, slowly pushing himself to a seated position. Wincing, he looked at his hands to find that they were shaking. "What's going on with me?"

 _~…you don't remember any of that? Iruka-sensei had a whole lecture about paying attention to your chakra levels. ~_

 _*To be fair, I didn't remember it either. *_

" _ **What's the big deal? It's chakra, it comes back."**_

 _~Eventually, but in the meantime he'll have to take it easy so that he can get it back Which means we can't have our own bodies for a bit. ~_

"What? Why?!" Naruto asked, grabbing his head in distress. It didn't help. "I mean, you guys ran off and were a pain in my ass, but it was your first outing and I barely got to know you!"

 _*It's not like we won't still be here with you. We just…won't be able to do our own thing for a little bit. *_

"…oh. But…" Naruto frowned, letting his hands drop to his sides. "How did I get chakra exhaustion?"

There was a silence in his head for a second, and Naruto got the odd feeling that they were looking between each other worriedly, as though hoping someone else would answer. Then again, they should've known better.

 _~We used to much chakra, obviously. ~_

"Okay, I get that. But…how?"

 _~Oh, we'll your chakra control is absolute shit, but ours is actually worse right now. ~_

That was not the answer Naruto expected. "Um, what?"

 _~Do I really need to – yes, I probably do need to simplify it more than that. Okay. Let's say you have to use a technique. Sakura could channel her chakra, get exactly how much that was needed, and make a perfect clone. Sasuke might use more, but only a little bit, to get it done. You would use…what two times too much? ~_

 _*At least two times too much. *_

"Hey!

 _~Right, two times more than the standard needed amount. Whereas we… ~_ There was a pause as Negi seemed to be considering how much they actually overloaded the jutsu with before he came to a guess. _~Five to ten times more than the standard amount. ~_

Naruto stared at his hand, still shaking, as he took that in. "But…why? Aren't you guys part of me? So, wouldn't that mean you learned to do things the same way?"

" _Yeah, because watching someone do taijutsu means you can automatically do it._ _"_ Tonkotsu interjected, the impression of him crossing his arms flashing in Naruto's mind. _"_ _We can figure out how to_ make _it work, but that doesn't mean we know how it actually works._ _"_

"So, let me get this straight. You guys ran off, did all kinds of crazy shit, and the whole time you were blowing out so much chakra that it gave me shakes."

" _ **You know, it sounds so much worse when you put it like that."**_

 _~In our defense, we didn't know. It's not like we did it intentionally. ~_

"I know, but still!" Naruto grimaced, picking himself up. He stumbled a bit, but kept his balance before moving into the kitchen. Making some food, he dropped himself down in his seat, groaning as he slowly ate. "Okay…so, uh…how do we fix that?"

 _~We need to learn chakra control. ~_

Naruto almost dropped his head into his bowl at that. "Ugh! Chakra control? But why?"

 _*I'm pretty sure Negi just explained that. *_

 _~It's not that hard, and you really don't have to do anything. ~_ That got Naruto to perk up in confusion. _~See, from what I can tell, we can manipulate your chakra…somewhat. Not much. Enough to allow us to practice. And we'll get it faster if we're in your body, since it naturally knows what to do. ~_

"Oh, well that's good." Naruto sighed. If it took them forever to learn something, that would be really annoying for him. Which meant that would be annoying for them too. Especially since – "Wait, how do you guys not know chakra control if you guys are me? Isn't that, you know, not right?"

 _~Naruto, we're you. Do you really think we know everything? All I know is what I figured out; that being that we overloaded the jutsu, it held together since we were in your clone, and we almost killed you. ~_

 _*Which we're REALLY sorry for by the way! *_

" _LEAF?"_

"Oh, hey Shoyu."

" _HI KAA-SAN!"_

 _~Hush Shoyu, the adults are talking. ~_ Naruto sweat dropped at that, though more so because Negi was being so forceful about the situation than being called an adult. He rather like that thought if he were honest. _~Anyways, like I said, we need to practice chakra control. The only one you can remember getting was the leaf concentration exercise Iruka-sensei had you do once. ~_

Naruto paused, flushing slightly at the memory of that. "You mean…the one I never really finished learning?"

 _~Yes. That one. ~_

"Oh. Eheh…sorry?"

 _~No sense worrying about things past. We'll just have to press on and relearn it. Shouldn't be too hard. ~_

" _ **Um, is no one going to acknowledge the fact that Shoyu called Naruto 'kaa-san'?"**_

 _*…wait, did he? I was listening to Negi. *_

Naruto froze, staring into his bowl before laughing softly. "N-no, he totally didn't."

" _BUT KAA-SAN~"_ Shoyu whined, electing a chorus of laughter from the rest of them. Naruto, for his part, just buried his face in his hands. _"YOUR HEAD!"_

That got the laughter to pause, and Naruto to rub his head. When he pulled his hand away, he winced as he rubbed off the lightly caked on blood. Apparently he'd been hit in the head harder than he'd thought if he was bleeding. Walking over to the medicine cabinet in his bathroom, he grabbed a bandage and put it on his forehead, sighing as he rubbed it gently.

"Well, at least now you guys have a point of reference for the chakra control." Naruto muttered, sighing softly as he checked for any other injuries. Seeing none, he stepped out to finish his food.

" _Hey, when you supposed to meet up with your team?_ _"_

Naruto froze, eyes snapping to the clock by his nightstand. Seeing the time, his eyes widened as he realized how late he was. "Oh shit!"

Thankfully he hadn't gotten himself ready for bed, so he was ready to go as he raced out towards their meeting place. He did make sure to grab his hiate before he left – he'd be damned before he forgot that. As he raced/stumbled down the street, he almost fell on his face as Memna spoke again.

" _ **So…seriously, are we going to talk about this whole, 'Naruto-kaa-san' business?"**_

 _Present_

"…I needed the practice?" Naruto finished lamely, not yet comfortable with idea of explaining to his teammates that he had five other people – personalities? he was still trying to decide which they were – in his head.

Thankfully, no one really questioned that. Sasuke gave him a piercing look before smirking and walking off, as though he thought himself better than Naruto. Sakura was just confused, but as soon as Sasuke stared walking off she was quick to follow. And Kakashi…

Well, Naruto couldn't really tell. Kakashi seemed aloof, but Negi kept telling him to watch him because of some reason or another. Likely he was just having fun with Naruto looking around at things that he was curious about. However, as Naruto watched, there was a brief flash of worry in his sensei's eyes. Was there something wrong? Or…

Looking away, Naruto shoved his hands into his jacket and stumbled after his teammates, grinning and doing his best to keep up with them. Kakashi watched silently, the small flickers of Naruto's emotions filtering through his thoughts as he followed them.

Similar to the bell test, he saw emotions and slight expressions on Naruto's face that weren't necessarily 'Naruto's'. Calculating, defiant, confrontational, spacing out, and inquisitive. Oh Naruto likely could have those expressions, but he was going through them so quickly that Kakashi had to wonder. The enigma of Naruto's condition made him ten time the wild card he'd been considered before he'd been given over to Kakashi. There were to many variables, to many possibilities…things that Naruto _could_ use, but that also couldn't be predicted. Was there an enemy hidden within him that was simply waiting? What kind of fragment _could_ be so patient?

Giving up on that line of thought, he followed along behind his team, mildly amused as he envisioned their reactions to getting their first D-ranked mission.

-x-

After being told what the mission possibilities were, Kakashi was not disappointed when Naruto nearly exploded with confusion. "What do you mean dog walking?!"

"Exactly that Naruto." Hiruzen said, idly chuckling at the reaction Naruto gave them. He always was a spirited boy. "Due to your lateness, the only request currently available is dog walking."

"You see! This is why you show up on time!" Sakura yelled, jabbing a finger at Naruto who flinched away from her yell.

"Technically he wasn't much later than Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke said, eyeing the one-eyed jonin. "Did you plan this?"

"Hm? I'm sorry did you say something?"

Sasuke's eye twitched at the dry, unfocused response. He wasn't used to being ignored, let alone seeing a jonin be so flippant and casual. It was unnerving!

"What would the other jobs have been?" Naruto asked, slipping away from Sakura's wrath. "Fighting an angry mob? Protecting a princess? Beating up an evil organization?!"

"Catching Tora, the daimyo's cat, weeding several gardens, gathering groceries for some of the elderly, and helping demolish a building."

The three genin stared at the aged Hokage before Naruto voiced their feelings on the matter. "UGH! This is what being a genin is like? Where's all the _cool_ missions? The fighting, the epic jutsu, the princesses?" Naruto pause, blinking before adding, "Or other such people."

"Naruto," Iruka said, getting his attention. "You're not yet ready for that. Being a genin means learning to work together as a team, where it's _safe_. Plus, these missions are meant to help the village grow, and prosper, while showing what our village can do on a full scale, rather than in pockets all around Hi no Kuni."

"It still sucks." Naruto grumbled.

Figuring that arguing with Naruto would be like attempting to climb over an electrified fence, Kakashi intervened. "We'll take it."

"Alright, we'll expect you back by this afternoon." Hiruzen stamped the papers and handed it to Kakashi, who motioned for them to follow after him.

Naruto stared at them, eyes narrowing slightly before began making his way out. As he left, Iruka let his own frown cross his face. "What was that?"

Hiruzen pressed his fingers together, the last look on Naruto's face playing back to him again. Skepticism, sharpening only slightly before he'd left. It wasn't Naruto who'd had these thoughts, but he'd been the face expressing them. With a sigh, Hiruzen picked up his pipe. "Until we get Tsunade back, I cannot say anything for certain."

"…Hokage-sama." Iruka said, breaking the small moment of silence timidly. "You seem to know quite a bit about it, but then you also have holes in that knowledge as well. Why…"

"How can I be so knowledgeable about something that I truly know very little about?"

Iruka flinched, nodding slowly despite himself. Hearing Hiruzen sight, he turned to face the man fully. "There comes a time when you realize you know enough about something to make the hair on your head curl with distaste. The breaking of the mind isn't something that's easily worked on, or fixed. However, the way Naruto's broke means that it broke through a chakra stressor; something buried deep in his mind, but had been pushed down and caused him to begin cracking. All it needed was something to press against it and let it out."

"…the shadow clones?" Iruka asked, worry for his former student rising.

Hiruzen shook his head. "No, but those became a vessel for the other personalities. No, I'd imagine that the stressor was learning the technique, and attempting to pass. Working so hard to fail, and knowing that this will be your last and perhaps only chance to accomplish something can break someone. Even someone as strong as Naruto."

Iruka nodded slowly, frown still etched on his face. "That doesn't seem like it'd be enough though, Hokage-sama."

"Oh? And you can think of another reason he'd have broken?"

"Learning _that_ secret?"

"He found that out _after_ he'd already made the clones. And the clones were supportive of him in spite of it."

"Then…" Iruka wracked his mind, trying to think of what else it could be. Part of him insisted that it was in part his fault, that because he hadn't noticed the pain Naruto had been going through he'd allowed Naruto to suffer, to break, and now to have other people capable of affecting his body.

"Iruka." Hiruzen sighed, leaning back in his seat. "This isn't something you could've seen. Most normal medical ninja aren't trained in the practice of even spotting it, as it's something that's so subtle that to see it one would need to have perfect chakra control to even begin the technique to sense it, let alone fix it."

That seemed to startle Iruka, who tried to think of those in the medical field. How many had perfect chakra control? Surprisingly few from what he knew. He remembered that one of his old students, Tenten, had tried to learn some medical ninjutsu, but had had just subpar enough control that she couldn't learn them. Even the basics were extraordinarily difficult depending on just how 'perfect' one's control was. He imagined Sakura, and perhaps Ino could learn it, but they were still genin; getting them -or rather, forcing them - to specialize in medical ninjutsu would be counterproductive. Especially since Iruka had no doubt that neither of them had much love for the blond boy.

"So that's it then? We just, wait?" Iruka asked, feeling desperate despite everything.

"That is." Hiruzen pressed his fingers together, frowning as he admitted that. "Unless some of our medical staff learn the technique, we'll have to observe and ensure that Naruto's mind does not…invert on itself."

"You mean that he won't hurt himself."

"…yes." Hiruzen sighed, recalling times when he'd seen such things happen. "He's unique in that it hasn't already happened, but we shouldn't let our guard down."

There was a small silence between the two of them as they stared at one another. Then, with a heavy sigh, Iruka nodded. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

-x-

Naruto, despite the feeling of annoyance at his position as a dog walker, had found that the mission wasn't all that bad. He'd learned a lot during their walk, and it was all surprising. For instance, he was not stronger than a large dog, as seen when it tried to drag him into an electric fence.

Other than that, he'd talked a bit with his teammates, and then with his mind clones – seriously, he needed to think of a better name for that. He'd been surprised to find that Sasuke was more open to talking to him than Sakura, at least until she realized Sasuke was taking him seriously, though Negi had explained why.

Sasuke was a proud person. He'd been the best, and had never seen anyone as being on his level in his group. And, at the time, it had been true. No one had shown his level of skill or talent. Hell, because no one else showed off he never had a reason or need to show that he could use a katon jutsu – something that no one else in their graduated class could do. Negi almost sounded mildly impressed about it, since most of Naruto and the clones seemed to think that Sasuke was a showoff.

Sakura…was disappointing to talk to. Mainly because a lot of her discussions tended to trail of to her talking about Sasuke rather than something with actual merit. Naruto could almost hear Miso grinding her teeth in the back of his mind, giving him a slightly disappointed feeling. He'd hoped that all of his clones were like him, and that eventually they could get along with each other. Apparently Miso found her very, very annoying, which dashed some of those ideas.

Note to self; try to remember to not let them meet up.

And Kakashi was nowhere to be seen, so we can move on past that.

Another thing that Naruto was almost overjoyed to discover was the headsets. They didn't need it for their job, they weren't supposed to take them out, but Naruto begged to have one just to wear around. Thinking that it was just something that would help Naruto feel like he was more of a shinobi, Kakashi had allowed it.

In Naruto's mind however, the rest of his clones had been confused, then stunned as he'd explained. They only had a limited range, but they ran on chakra batteries which meant they'd last indefinitely. Plus, like with the bells, they'd duplicate the headsets as well. That meant that Naruto could allow them to go mess around and do whatever they wanted, but could contact them when he needed them to come back, or if he figured they'd done something and he needed to make sure they were okay because they weren't dispelling and coming back.

Memna had sounded quite offended at everyone seeming to point to him as the main culprit. He didn't deny it, but he was still offended.

And speaking of that, Naruto poked and prodded them about that particular bit. How did they not dispel when hit? The answer wasn't really an answer so much as a theory, but then Negi had paid more attention to the scroll than Naruto.

Kage Bunshin were made by splitting one's chakra and duplicating their mind 'over' that chakra to allow it to act in whatever way the original did. It also apparently allowed for whatever happened to the clone to transfer back with the chakra, making it so whatever they learnt, Naruto did as well. Nifty, but Naruto didn't seem to fully understand just how useful it could be.

Regardless, Negi guess that, since they were basically fragmented clones of Naruto, they were able to superimpose themselves onto Naruto's clones. However, since their minds weren't really clones, they were able to hold their bodies together much better than his own clones did since they knew that they were clones and a blow would disrupt that knowledge. They knew they 'weren't' clones, and as such could take more damage. It would mean that when they dispelled Naruto felt _everything_ they had felt, but he also felt it in a far, far more real way.

Naruto had nodded along to that, humming and grinning (once the electricity from the fence had stopped making him twitch), and had almost missed his teammates leaving as they'd been dismissed for the day.

Blinking, Naruto slowly shoved his hands into his pockets, walking down the street back to the nearby training ground. Pausing, he reached up and caught the leaf as it fell into his hand, raising his brow before sighing. _"Who is it now?"_

" _Shut your face, this is harder than it looks!_ _"_

Ah, so it was Tonkotsu…again. When it came to anything other than 'go there, punch that', Tonkotsu had even less concentration than Naruto did. He'd started the training, then had it drop so often that he gave up and swapped with someone else. When everyone else began to get it, he'd ask to try again, fail, get frustrated and pout, see everyone's success and try again, and repeat. And now he was back at it again, but he was also the last one to get it down.

Naruto had even done some actual training during the walk, getting it down surprisingly quickly despite the fact he'd dodged the training more often than not. He had done it a few times on his own, but hadn't had the focus to keep going, mainly because no one had explained to him that if he had better control, he could use more awesome jutsu. It was amazing how such a small detail made such a big difference in his focus.

Negi had the best focus, and as such learnt the control exercise the fastest; he practiced more than the others too, but he called that 'refining' his technique. Miso was next, followed by Shoyu, of all people. Memna and himself struggled, but at least could focus when they needed to. And Tonkotsu, well his failures were clear and present.

Sighing, Naruto placed the leaf back on his forehead. Feeling Tonkotsu 'pick it up' again, he began walking home again before he paused and found himself unable to move. "Uh, hello?"

 _~Hold on, what's that? ~_

Naruto blinked, turning to look around. He couldn't move for a second, but when Negi finally let him go (how he did that Naruto didn't question) until he froze again in one particular direction. "Oh that? That's the library."

 _~And you didn't mention there was a library here, why? ~_

"…I didn't think about it?" Naruto shrugged with a soft huff. He didn't like that Negi was trying to drag him around like this, since it didn't help him get home. "I mean, there's the public library, but that –"

 _~I know of it. What I didn't know was how close this one was to the Hokage's tower. Doesn't that place house generic jutsu in it? ~_

Naruto frowned, mind pulling up information that he didn't even realize that he'd known from one of Iruka's lectures; likely due to the fact he'd have asked the same question. "No, the Konoha Shinobi Library doesn't house many jutsu written in it, since it's so much in the open that if Konoha was attacked it would become a prime target for scroll theft. Most jutsu scrolls are actually scattered in different parts of Konoha. There are some, but not the cool ones."

There was a small silence as they took that in. Miso was the first to break it, remembering something. _*So, like the scroll you stole isn't there? Just, stuff like the normal Bunshin, Kawarimi, or the Henge?*_

Naruto winced at that, laughing softly. "Yeah, something like that."

 _~So, they have no cool jutsu in there? None at all?~_

"I…" Naruto blinked. "I dunno."

Naruto began walking over to the library, missing the small, almost satisfied feeling coming from Negi.

Entering the building, Naruto winced as he saw the librarian glance up at him. They narrowed their eyes at him, likely due to hearing of his reputation, but didn't stop him from entering. Slowly moving in, Naruto began looking around timidly, eyes widening in amazement.

The room was not vast, but it was impressive. Rows of more western styled books and traditional scrolls lined the shelves, covering the walls with the impressive selection of it all. Turning around to try and look at it all, Naruto found himself in awe. There were really that many book here? So many words, to so many subjects, from so many places. Could someone spend enough time to read it all?

"May I help you?"

Naruto jumped, eyes wide as he saw the librarian. Shuffling in place, he shook his head, eyes still looking around wide-eyed and in awe.

The librarian seemed to notice his expression and her own softened. Leaning forwards, she gave a small, tentative smile as he looked back at her. "Let me guess, it's your first time here?" Seeing him not, she laughed lightly. "And I'm going to guess that you came here looking for the super cool jutsu, right?"

Naruto shook his head, getting a curious look from the librarian. Grinning sheepishly, he shrugged. "I know there aren't many here, I've just never been near here before and wanted to check it out."

The librarian smiled at that, seemingly pleased that Naruto was not so foolish as to believe that he could just read these scrolls and gain 'ultimate power'. Had Naruto not had five other 'people' in his mind to knock him around, he'd have thought more about the idea of him learning a bunch of jutsu, impressing the Hokage into seeing his greatness, and stepping down to let him take his place.

"Well then, what are you looking for then? Books on history, theory, science…?"

Naruto frowned, letting Negi speak. Unfortunately…

" _Books on how to punch people better!_ _"_

" _ **How to become a demon one-oh-one."**_

 _*Do they have any history books that have images of what happened?*_

 _~I don't care, I just want to see what they have.~_

Naruto blinked, their voices sadly blending together. Giving up, he shrugged sheepishly. "I was just…" Naruto paused, the leaf that had been on his forehead falling as Tonkotsu lost focus. Staring down at it, he perked up slightly as he thought of something. "Do you have something for chakra control?"

The librarian noticed the leaf and pursed her lips, waiting for Naruto to snatch it up and put it away before answering. "We have chakra theory, and some on the nature of chakra itself, but chakra control is more often something your sensei would go over with you at some point. If you'd like," She turned around. "Shiho! Will you come here?

As the librarian called out, a girl poked her head out. She had a pair of odd swirl-filled glasses on his face, her hair done up in a ponytail, and was dressed in some more casual clothing than most of the people Naruto knew. Come to think of it, most of those he knew wore some of the most outlandish clothing he'd ever thought of shinobi wearing. Maybe he should change up his orange later?

Ha! Ah that would be something.

"Would you be a dear and help this boy find some chakra theory books?"

The girl, Shiho, glanced to Naruto and grinned. "Yeah of course!" She motioned him to follow her, before pausing and motioned to the librarian. "Um, make sure you sign in and give your hiate to her. It's just a safety thing for us."

"What? Why?"

"Well," Shiho glanced to the librarian, who motioned her to go on. "Back when we first opened, some people thought they could steal from us. We eventually found that by having them give in their hiate, they behave better and won't try to just steal our book. Moving the jutsu scrolls out to more secure locations dropped it to almost never, but we still maintain the hiate rule since it covers us for later."

"Oh." Naruto muttered, removing his hiate and signed in. It felt wrong to give it up, but then it was only for a short while, which made it a small price to pay for information…even if most of it was going to go right over his head. At least most of it would go into Negi's.

 _~That's actually a good system. Taking their hiate takes away their symbol and position. It's a matter of respect I guess.~_

 _*I just hope they're honest and give it back. I mean, what if someone else got it?*_

" _ **We kill them and pretend we don't know what happened to them."**_

No one listened to Memna's suggestion, though everyone in his head deadpanned at how outright vicious he was about it. Naruto just chose to follow Shiho, eventually forgetting about the voices in his head and began looking around. "So, uh…how do you find anything in here? I mean, there are so many books!"

"Oh, it's quite easy once you know the codes." Shiho said with a small shy smile, glancing towards a label and pointed it out. "See?"

"Uh…" Naruto squinted at the label, the numbers and letters being gibberish to him. "No, I don't –"

 _~Hold on, move over to the next one.~_

Naruto complied, though admittedly still confused. Looking it over, he blinked before moving back. There was something there, though he couldn't place a finger on it. After a moment, Shoyu perked up.

" _WHY IS IT BACK-SIDEWAYS KAA-SAN?"_

"Eh?" Naruto slowly turned his head, realizing that, since the shelf had been built using horizontal slates which formed a grid, he'd been attempting to read the code from top to bottom as the labels had been put to the side of each scroll. Turning the letters, they suddenly began to make more sense of it as he read it from bottom to top, rather than top to bottom. "Um, kinda? Why is it back-side – er, upside-down?"

Shiho blinked, seeming confused before snapping her head to the labels. "Wait, you already figured it out?! Wow, you must be an amazing code cracker!"

Naruto waved his hands in front of himself quickly. "No! No I'm not, I just got a lucky guess that's all."

 _~And you have a secret genius in your head too. Lucky guess, like I believe that.~_

"Oh, well then you must have a sharper mind than you realize." Shiho laughed sheepishly. "It took me a week before I realized that. I got lost quite a few times too. It was rather embarrassing."

 _*I'd get lost too, this place is huge!*_

" _Why would anyone want to do things here? I mean, maybe for close quarters…ooh! Practicing CQC in here would be amazing!_ _"_

 _~I wonder if there's a book in here that would teach her a sense of direction. And maybe some common sense for you.~_

" _Hey!"_

"But anyways." She motioned to the books, slowly dragging a finger across the spines of several before pulling one off. "This one might be a good place to start. Chakra theory, the Purpose of Hand Seals. Then maybe Chakra, Tenketsu and You. That one works well with the hand seals since you'll see the why after the how. I heard some people learnt to make their own jutsu with just these two alone."

The books vanished from her hands so fast she was still blinking when Naruto made his way to the table. "Yup, these will work just fine! I like the sound making my own jutsu, haha!"

Shiho blinked, watching the strange boy begin to get to work on reading the book. Hesitantly shuffling closer, she pulled out a blank notebook and set it next to him. Seeing the confusion on his face, she shrugged. "Most people don't think to bring one on their first visit, since they don't realize that they can't checkout any of the scrolls."

"What?" Naruto's eyes widened, blinking and waving his hands wildly. "But-but how am I supposed to learn anything from this then? That's not fair!"

"Well, like we said," Shiho shrugged sheepishly, having heard it all before from one person or another. "People used to steal the scrolls and think they could just check them out and not return them."

 _~Oh, so that's why they take the hiate. To ensure that you don't try to steal it. Huh, that's very, very smart.~_

"Well…" Naruto paused, glancing to the notebook. Flipping it open, he sighed softly. "Thanks, I guess."

"No problem!" Shiho said, seeming happier at seeing him understand why she was doing this, and that she was genuinely trying to help.

Cracking his knuckles, Naruto picked up a pen and opened the first book. "Alright, let's see what this's got!"

-x-

"Worst. Book. Ever."

Naruto banged his head into the desk repeatedly, the books pushed to an arms-length away as though to shun their existence. Shiho, bless her soul, peaked in upon hearing the banging and gripped his shoulders preventing him from repeating the motion until he groaned and buried his face in his arm, shifting after a moment to grip his head.

"Why do they use such dumb words?" Naruto groaned. Even Negi had been completely stumped – his vocabulary was larger, but not more extensive in understanding than Naruto's. "I mean, shouldn't it be easy? Put your hands like this, and you do that, like this, like that. Simple!"

Shiho laughed softly, patting him on the head. While he scowled up at her, she ignored it as she pulled the book back. "They didn't really want people to know exactly how they worked. If everyone could do it, it wouldn't be as unique and special to those who did do it. And besides, this is all just theory."

"But the theory is so boring." Naruto groaned, banging his head one last time. "I mean, half the time they're making symbolic references to stuff that doesn't have anything to do with what's being written!"

"Well, that's part of it." Shiho mused, looking at the section he was currently on. Boar seal, ooh that was a tricky one. "The way I look at it though is that the stories are like codes. Like how you have to look at the labels a certain way or you'll be lost, if you look at the story the right way, it'll allow you to see exactly what the author meant."

Naruto made a 'go on gesture, slowly sitting up to pay attention, and she pressed her lips together in thought. How did she explain better, without outright telling him what it meant? She'd struggled herself for the longest time on these books, and it would be rather frustrating if she just gave him the answer. "For example…you might want to write down some of the stories, and look at them together. I found that it helped me get a better idea of what it all meant that way."

Picking up the book again, Naruto let out a growl. Jabbing his finger into the middle of the pages, he glared at it menacingly. "I will defeat you author-person. I will find your tricks and I will make them mine."

"Good luck with that." Shiho said, slowly taking the book from him. "Unfortunately, we're closing in a little bit, so you'll have to spar with the books later."

"Wait what?" Naruto balked, actually reaching for the book again. "Wait no, I swear I'm almost done just give me five more minutes!"

Had Iruka, or anyone from his class seen him right then, they'd have likely done a double take at that. To be fair, Naruto whining about not having enough time to read a book wasn't within the norm that they were used to. But then, Naruto was also being encouraged by those in his head who were reading along and were trying to decipher what all was written within themselves. If one thought reading alone was bad, reading for six was _hard_.

Seeing that Shiho wouldn't budge, Naruto grumbled and picked up his notebook. Shoving it into his pocket, he let her guide him out of the library and back onto the streets. Hunched over, and making his way dejectedly down the street, Naruto silently muttered to himself.

"So, did you get that?"

 _~There's something wrong with the stories I had you write down. I'll look at them later, but I can't think of what it is yet. I'll get back to you on that.~_

 _*I hope you figure it out soon. Naruto banging his head like that just to get you a hint seemed might've seemed weird to her.*_

" _I doubt it. She just seemed happy someone was there. How many people use a library these days?_ _"_

"Enough that they haven't replaced it with something new?"

" _ **You know, he has a point."**_

" _CARD GAME LIKE SOLITARE? OR FISH GAMES!"_

"Yes Shoyu, card games to you too." Naruto said with a grin, mentally picturing himself patting Shoyu on the head, to the clone's delight. He didn't understand what Shoyu said any more than the rest of them, but that sounded like he wanted to play cards when they got back. Speaking of, "Think I can make clones for you guys when I get back? I…kinda miss talking to you guys face to face."

 _~Not today. Maybe tomorrow after missions we can try again.~_ Feeling Naruto's disappointment, Negi projected a feeling of being 'pat on the back'. _~We're just looking out for you Naruto. That's all. I mean, if you want to die of chakra exhaustion that's on you, but we'd rather you not.~_

Naruto laughed at that, the image of Negi giving him such a flat, seemingly uncaring look while telling him not to die just seemed appropriate. Negi was the sensible one, keeping his head on and pointing out the hidden things Naruto missed. He was so much smarter, and straightforward.

Why couldn't Negi be him?

He wasn't fooling himself into thinking he envied Negi, or his position in his mind, but sometimes he wished he were that smart. Like Sakura, or Iruka, or hell even Sasuke. Everyone seemed to openly praise them for being so smart that they made everyone else feel dumb. So what if they knew everything by heart? It didn't mean much…except it did. People took notice, they _liked_ having smart people around.

And Naruto was a prankster. Oh he could pretend to hold a conversation with smart people, but the moment they started using big words his mind left the building and it became all too obvious that he was not all there for what they were saying. He hadn't studied them, hadn't put any effort whatsoever into learning about these extensive 'mysteries of chakra or the world or whatever'. He had just wanted to be respected and become Hokage since that was what people did; they trained, got strong, became popular and were recognized for being awesome, and got positions like being Hokage.

Wasn't it?

Suddenly doubtful, Naruto shoved his hands in his pockets and headed home. He had some things to think on, and a lot to work out with himself.

-x-

After another day of seemingly pointless, and certainly annoying missions, Naruto returned to his studies. Or at least, he tried to. As soon as missions were done, Memna immediately began pestering him to let them out to go have fun as soon as possible. And he just, wouldn't, stop.

" _ **Come on, let us out! We're done with our missions, we're clear of everyone, so just make the clones and let us go on our way!"**_

"You just want to find that tiger again don't you?"

" _ **I'm gonna fight it damn it!"**_

 _*That sounds like a colossal waste of time. *_

 _~I agree. I'm personally going to the library to see about looking at those books again. Maybe with a bit of work…and maybe someone to help…~_

"Whatever." Naruto muttered, glancing around before moving to a 'safe spot'. Seeing no one around, Naruto formed the hand seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" With five puffs of smoke, followed by a shout of "Henge!" and five more puffs of smoke, the four of them bolted out in their own directions. "Oi! Make sure you keep your radios on or else I'm coming to kick your asses!"

Grumbling to himself, Naruto began walking off until he remembered Shoyu was following with him. Thankfully he didn't just fall over immediately on flat ground, but he did seem to trip over his own feet a lot. Sighing, he moved Shoyu's over and turned radio down so that it wouldn't startle him when someone spoke.

"So, five of them then?"

Naruto froze, absolutely still as he heard the voice from behind him. Glancing up, Shoyu stared up at the person with a twitch to his eyes. Feeling Naruto put a hand on his arm – which he had once again somehow locked in front of him with tied sleeves – he looked down and whined. Naruto shook his head and turned, facing Kakashi.

"Yeah. Five." Naruto ran a hand through his hair before interlocking them behind his head. "They're really cool once you get to know them!"

"I see." Kakashi said softly, eyes never leaving Shoyu's.

Shoyu began shifting in place eyes not leaving Kakashi's for a good couple of minutes before finally he couldn't seem to take it. "Are you the strawman?"

Kakashi deadpanned at that, looking down at Naruto. "Um, what?"

Naruto shrugged, but Shoyu suddenly began bouncing as he grinned at Naruto. "He is, he is the strawman! The one you beat up!"

Neither one of them spoke, confused as to what Shoyu was referring to. At least, initially Naruto was. After a couple seconds thought he remembered that he'd made a strawman replica of Kakashi that he'd made after meeting the man to practice against. He hadn't used it again, what with being knocked unconscious and having too much on his mind the night before, but Shoyu clearly remembered it.

"Yeah~ the one I beat up during the test." Naruto chuckled loudly, clearly trying to hide his nervousness as he pat Shoyu on the shoulder. "He's also my sensei, so make sure you're nice to him."

"Hi Strawman-sensei!" Shoyu leaned to the side as though waving high above his head. With his hands tied though, he simply began leaning over to far and would have fallen had Naruto not grabbed his shoulder to steady him.

"Um, hi." Kakashi raised a brow at Naruto's apparent nonchalant attitude about Shoyu falling over. "He does that a lot?"

"A lot." Naruto said, his face telling him that 'a lot' was clearly an understatement. "So, uh…what's up Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi remained silent for a moment, watching as Shoyu was pulled back onto two feet. There was something 'off' about him that Kakashi just couldn't put his finger on. Of course, he was a fractured clone, so perhaps he was simply one of the more fractured pieces of Naruto's mind given form.

"Ah, I was just coming back to check on you." Kakashi said, waving his hand dismissively. "You seemed like you had a lot on your mind through the mission, and I figured I'd ask what was up."

Naruto paused, glancing away and rubbing the back of Shoyu's neck as he thought. "I…I've just had a lot to think about, that's all. I don't know if I can put it to words…"

"Hm." Kakashi motioned for Naruto to follow him, stepping slowly so that they could keep up. Naruto, begrudgingly, followed with Shoyu stumbling every so often. "Would you like to try?" Noticing Naruto's skepticism, Kakashi grinned. "You don't have to if you don't want to. I'm not going to treat you like some child. You're considered a full adult in the eyes of Konoha, and I will do my best to treat you as such. Of course, that being said, I can still also try to be a friendly face and a listening ear, if you need."

Naruto nodded at that, appreciative of the fact that Kakashi was willing to let him do his own thing. While a small part of him was suspicious of being followed by his teacher, a good portion of that part of him was primarily off with Negi looking at books in the library. As such, he interlocked his fingers behind his head and hummed before trying to explain. "I…Kakashi-sensei, how did you become respected?"

Kakashi idly thought about laughing at that. Him, respected? He read smutty books in public, was consistently late, and had the reputation of being rather dry of humor. However, as he glanced to Naruto, he felt the question was…genuine, and that made him pause. He was a shinobi of high caliber, and of high rank; there was good reason he was called the Copy Ninja, among other things. Still, as for the how…

"It's complicated." Kakashi said, looking off into the distance. "On the one hand, I was a child prodigy. I graduated early, became a chunin quickly, and a jonin just as fast. I created my one and only personal original jutsu, and fought in the Third Great Shinobi War. There's a lot of things I've done…but few stand out as what made people respect me for them."

Naruto frowned at that, silently taking all that in. In his young mind, he'd immediately flagged most of that stuff as 'kickass' and 'awesome' but…it was still rather vague. Mostly because he didn't know his sensei very well, and due to his lack of attention span he'd likely forget bits and pieces of what he'd just been told, which was quite unhelpful. Still, it was a start.

"My philosophy at first was to never break the one rule I ever had. 'Those who break the rules are trash'." Kakashi continued. Seeing Naruto lean forward expectantly caused a small, sad smile to creep into his eyes. "That was it, at the time."

"…wait." Naruto blinked, going over that again. "But, what about the betraying your friends part? Isn't that part of the saying?"

"Initially? No. At first it was just that. I had my reasons, but a friend helped me to see that there was more to it than that." Kakashi's eye seemed to drift slightly, into a memory from long ago. "Since then, I've been a better person, and I think that, in some ways, following it has made me more respected."

Naruto nodded slowly, trying to take all that in. It still didn't tell him much about what he wanted to know, so he decided to backtrack a bit to one of his other issues. "You were a child prodigy?"

"Hm? Oh, well I guess I did say that." Kakashi rubbed his chin, as though this was something completely foreign to him. "But, I suppose one could say –"

"Did people respect you for it?"

Kakashi paused, glancing back to Naruto. He seemed almost pleading, looking for an answer that he couldn't quite reach. Thinking back on his own life, Kakashi eventually shrugged. "I don't know. I suppose so, but then at the time I didn't really care."

"You didn't – but…why?"

The thought of someone 'not caring' what others thought of them was so foreign to Naruto. He'd been called a multitude of bad names, had them basically verbally break him – Memna and Tonkotsu were proof of that, and had been the Dead Last of his age group. People laughed at him, mocked him, and patronized him for not understanding what they thought to be 'common sense' issues. Was it like that with all geniuses? Did they just think that because they knew more they didn't have to worry about anything?

"Because I tried to wall myself off." Kakashi replied, bringing Naruto back. "It wasn't that I didn't want respect, or that I needed it. I just had a different goal than others, and so sometimes I would lose myself in it. I would forget that others have their own ways, their own ideas, and would focus on doing things as by-the-books as I possibly could. It was my way at the time."

"Your own way…" Naruto muttered, letting that roll around in his head for a moment.

"He walked where the black cats used to." Shoyu suddenly said, nodding as though he'd just said the most sage-like thing ever.

Kakashi chuckled at that. "I suppose you could say that. It would explain why I avoid them and take so long to get her wouldn't it?"

"Yup!"

Naruto shook his head, stopping to stare up at Kakashi, which caused him and Shoyu to do the same. "Are…are geniuses always going to be better? To do so little bust still get respected? I…"

"So little? Is that what you think?" Kakashi laughed at that, though after a second he realized that Naruto was completely serious. "Naruto, just because us geniuses act all cool in public, doesn't mean we aren't training like hell when you aren't looking. Being a genius just means that we understand and can do it quicker, not that we'll be able to use it with any skill."

Naruto considered those words. That painted Sasuke in a whole new light as well; not that Naruto needed to see his rival in a clearer light, but hey it helped. "So, even a genius still has to work to get respected?"

"Constantly." Kakashi nodded, smiling to himself. "They still have to work, to try things differently, and even ask for help if they need it."

"But, isn't that the opposite of what geniuses do?" Naruto frowned, motioning vaguely around himself. "I mean, geniuses learn everything so fast, what do they need help with?"

"Everyone needs help with things Naruto. And some people are lucky with that skill. I guess you could say that some people are geniuses of asking for help." Kakashi frowned at that. "Hm, maybe genius of assistance management sounds better."

"Um, what?"

"Friendship!"

"Well," Kakashi ignored Shoyu's outburst, being somewhat used to such things from Gai. "Asking for help isn't always easy. It can be stressful, opening yourself up and revealing a weakness, which means that sometimes people close themselves off from the few people who can help them. Others though seem to know exactly when to ask for help, how to ask, and who to ask. Those three things can make or break a shinobi in this area; especially if they attempt to try to complete a task alone that could've been much easier if they had some help in doing it."

Naruto's eyes widened at that. Then, turning to Shoyu, Naruto grinned and pat his head. "Yeah, like friendship."

Kakashi blinked, eyeing Shoyu who eagerly accepted the praise. It had only been one word, but for Naruto it seemed to be something to help him identify with what Kakashi said next. Shoyu obviously didn't know what he was going to say, but he _had_ understood what Kakashi was implying before he'd explained it. He'd brushed off Shoyu as 'the crazy one' but now he was a bit troubled by the boy. He couldn't do anything, as Shoyu was still being 'good', but he'd keep his eyes ever sharp on this one.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei?"

Hearing Naruto drew him back to the boy. He looked determined, if a bit skittish. Raising a brow, Kakashi idly wondered what Naruto had on his mind. "Yes?"

"Can you…" Taking a deep breath, Naruto steeled himself. "I need help with my chakra control. I practiced the leaf balancing trick, but I don't feel like my control went up all that much. Shiho said sensei's helped with that sometimes, so…I just wanted to ask…"

Kakashi slowly smiled, pleased at how instantaneously Naruto took these things to heart. Patting Naruto on the head, he nodded. "Sure. I'd be glad to help."

* * *

AN: And done! I could feel the struggle to get through this chapter, but I made it! I am aliiiiive - *falls over and passes out*

So yeah, for anyone expecting Kakashi bashing, um…no. Kakashi was young and I can see him not having a very close relationship with anyone (you know why), and that he'd have an aversion to either asking or offering to help his students. Why?

Because he was a super young genin.

Why does that matter? You remember being a kid (somewhat), and being looked down to? Imagine being surrounded by people years older than you and treated like you're still an infant who doesn't know any better. Kakashi, from what I've understood personally, hates that. In fact, after he recommends his team for the Chunin Exams, he berates Iruka for trying to tell them that the Rookie 9 aren't ready. He goes so far as to call them "my soldiers" rather than "his students" or "his kids" – anything that would imply that they're still youth in his eyes.

Which also means that I can see Kakashi not teaching any of his students unless they asked for help. I nudged it along a bit (like an A-Wing hitting a Star Destroyer's bridge) to let it make sense why Naruto would ask. Plus, he does need the chakra control; not just for himself, but for his clones as well. The more control they get, the easier it'll be for them.

On~ that note, I'm actually going to help them fix the Henge problem real fast – and just for giggles, it's not chakra control that helps them get around it. I wonder if anyone will figure it out before I show it in…one, two chapters? Hm, maybe more if I'm feeling up to dragging it out. Well, we'll see!

And for those of you who don't know or couldn't tell, Wave is coming soon! So, the poll is closed on those fronts. I have taken your suggestions and will consider them. The only one that's really up in the air right now is Zabuza, but I've got time for that.

New poll though! As I'm sure you've seen it all before with the Chunin Exams, I'm sure you might want something new (new as far as I know) – or do you?! Vote now if you want to see something new for the Chunin Exams!

Something new \- Yes/No:

And with that, the chapter is done! See you all next time on **Naruto: Fractured**!


	7. Shadow Upon the Waves

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I do however own the MONSTER AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER! Wait what? No I didn't say monster, I said superstar, what are you implying? Hahaha! Ha…ha…anyways.

* * *

Chapter 7: Shadow Upon the Waves

 _One Month Later_

Kakashi had very few things on his mind as he watched his team from the trees. The memorized literature of his book, the wind through the trees; those sort of things were idly there, in the back of his mind. One thing that stuck out though –

"GET IT OFF ME!"

\- Was that watching someone get mauled by Tora was still the greatest thing ever.

Naruto on the other hand, was not a happy camper. Flailing and struggling against the death claw known as Tora, aka the daimyo's wife's cat, Naruto eventually managed to peel the cat off his face and hold it at arm's length, where it growled at him angrily. It would remember this, and it would make him suffer.

"Alright, good work team." Kakashi said, hopping down from the tree he'd been perched in. "You guys are getting better at using those radios to know where everyone is while staying out of the target's sight."

"Yeah," Naruto muttered, glaring back at the cat with no remorse. "Because if this thing so much as catches a peek of us it bolts. Stupid cat." Cat scratch to the face. "WHY YOU!"

Sakura somehow managed to pick Tora out of Naruto's arms and cradled it. "Baka, leave the poor kitty alone!"

"It started it, I'm just finishing it!"

Kakashi watched in mild awe as the cat went from absolute savage to timid housecat as soon as she began petting it. Did she know some kind of secret technique to taming the savage beast? If she did, she definitely needed someone to learn to use it on her when her temper rose; she could be just as savage as Tora at times, though with more beating up than scratching.

Naruto crossed his arms, glaring at the cat as they made their way back. Sasuke, for his part, just amusedly watched the scene unfold. For all his skill and abilities, it was nice to know that even Naruto could still get his ass kicked by a cat. Then again, Sasuke wasn't so sure of his own abilities against it without eventually frying the damn thing.

Luckily for all of those who harbored deep seated ill will towards the creature, upon being returned to the daimyo's wife it was soon crushed between her arms and her bosom as she squeezed it in a tight hug. Naruto slowly let a smirk cross his face as she left, justice having been served.

"Alright, well…" Iruka muttered, eyeing the woman as she left. The sight of her doing that to the poor cat always made him question why they bothered giving this mission out seeing how Tora would just escape again, but then it wasn't his place to judge. "We have a few other missions left if you want. There's another house that needs retiling, and –"

"Oh no, no you don't!" Naruto shouted, forming and X with his arms. "We are not doing any more of these baby missions! We've run around doing these so much I can practically do it in my sleep!"

"Naruto!" Iruka growled, glaring at the young boy. "These missions are an important part of being a shinobi! You can't just blow them off because you don't feel like it!"

Naruto blinked, glancing to Kakashi. "Hey, we don't have to come here unless we want missions, right?"

Kakashi hummed softly, eyeing the fuming Iruka. "Well~ no. But if you want to get paid, then you do need to take missions."

"But we still pick the missions?"

"Technically."

"Then that settles it!" Naruto crossed his arms, nodding proudly. "We want a C-ranked mission!"

"N-Naruto, you don't have to be so loud about it." Sakura muttered.

In her head though was another story altogether. _**"Hell yeah! If we get this mission, we can show Sasuke-kun that we're ready for anything!"**_

Sasuke said nothing, but his eyes held a small glint of anticipation as he looked to Hiruzen. He wanted it, he was just willing to wait on Naruto to burst first, seeing how he _was_ the most likely to break down and hate these boring D-ranked missions.

Kakashi for his part was silently proud of Naruto. He'd expected Naruto to break after much longer than this, though in all honesty he'd also thought that with his tree climbing training he'd be distracted a bit more. Apparently not as much as he'd thought. Seeing the look Hiruzen gave him, Kakashi shrugged. Far be it from him to say no when the team stated they were ready. They knew their strengths better than him after all.

"I don't see why they can't take a C-ranked mission." Kakashi said, getting a glare from Iruka. He ignored it easily. "What sort of missions do you have?"

"Ooh! Is it protecting a princess? Fighting foreign ninja?" Naruto's eyes sparkled in anticipation, eager to see what they would get.

Hiruzen looked through the pile, humming softly. "The current mission I can give you would be to protect a bridge builder named Tazuna from Nami no Kuni (Land of Waves). In fact, he's checked up every day right about –"

An old man with a rope tied around his forehead entered then knocked on the door, looking far to intoxicated for that time of the day. Looking them over, he suddenly laughed. "Are these the brave shinobi meant to guard me? Look at 'em. The short one doesn't even look like they can fight out of a paper bag!"

"Haha! That's a good one!" Naruto said, putting his hands behind his head. "Who's the short one?"

Looking from either side to Sasuke and Sakura, he paused as he noticed that they were in fact taller than him. Feeling his eye twitch, Naruto almost started yelling at the man before Negi spoke up. _~Oh, it appears he's speaking about me.~_

Rather than shout, Naruto face vaulted into the floor before picking himself up. _"Wait what?!"_

 _*It's true. Despite being able to choose our own heights, Negi always picks to be the shortest of us.*_

" _He's odd like that._ _"_

" _HE LIKES THE SMOOSH."_

 _~I don't know what a smoosh is, but I doubt that's the reason. ~_

"Uh-huh…" Naruto muttered, hopping to his feet. "Well, looks like the jokes on you, old man! Because paper bags aren't our specialty; fighting against villainous bandits are thought!"

The man paused at that, blinking in confusion. Then he scoffed and swayed back towards the exit. "You guys better protect me, is all I'm sayin…"

Hiruzen coughed, getting their attention. "You will be guarding Tazuna on his trip to Nami, and he requests that you remain there till the bridge is finished. The estimated time being around four months."

Naruto's eyes widened at that. "Four months?" He suddenly seemed to jog in place with concern. "Oh jeez, I need to get someone to watch my plant! Um," He glanced to Kakashi, grinning shakily with concern. "Kakashi-sensei?"

"You all have two hours to meet up at the gate." Kakashi said with a smile, making a shooing motion. "Go take care of your things. I'll meet you there."

"Thanks Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted, turning and rushing over to Iruka. "Hey, Iruka-sensei! Can you watch my plant?!"

Sasuke and Sakura rolled their eyes at the enthusiastic boy, turning and heading out to take care of their own things. Kakashi stayed a moment longer, watching as Naruto paused for a moment before looking twice as frantic before rushing out the door.

"Kakashi this isn't wise." Iruka growled, staring at Kakashi, who just blinked at the man. "You know what I'm talking about, and you know why. So why are you risking it?"

"Because they feel they're ready of course." Kakashi pulled out his book, flipping open to the last page he'd been on. "Besides, I've been working with Naruto more than you have recently. I think you'll find that, barring experience, he's getting a better head on his shoulders than you'd think."

Iruka scowled at that, still thinking he knew better than Kakashi. Still, he had to relent and watch Kakashi go. He wasn't just trusting Kakashi, he was trusting the Hokage. And if he was willing to let Naruto roam for a bit, he had to as well.

He just hoped nothing bad happened to the boy.

 _Two Hours and Near Half a Dozen Goodbyes Later_

 _At the Gate_

" _Lee-senpai, just you wait! I will show this mission the Flames of Youth it deserves!_ _"_

 _*Will you hush about the Flames of Youth? You're embarrassing me!"_

" _Oh, by the way, Lee said hi._ _"_

 _*H-hey! Don't just bring me up to him whenever you feel like it!*_

 _~It was such a shame I couldn't find the rest of Team Eight. I hope they don't mind that I had to leave Kiba with the message…I'm just glad I thought ahead and wrote the message down. Kiba would not remember the exact wording I wanted to use.~_

" _ **Damn tiger, son of a double crossing lioness, I swear I'm gonna –"**_

" _Didn't find it?"_

" _ **Shut your face, I was on a tight schedule!"**_

Laughing at Memna's lack of finding his 'sparring partner' aside, Naruto looked bored and ready as any single person could be. Sasuke and Sakura were just walking up, bags made and looking rather eager themselves. Grinning, he waved to them. "Oi! Ready to go?!"

"Yeah, just about." Sakura said, pulling her pack around again to go over everything. "I keep feeling like I'm forgetting something, but I can't remember what…"

Naruto didn't really have a witty remark, but before he could do anything he felt an odd sensation come across him as Miso suddenly spoke up; through his mouth, no less. "Hairbrush?"

Sakura glared at him, but slowly looked through and nodded. "Got it."

"Change of clothes?"

"Naruto!" Sakura glared at him, but seeing how serious he – or rather Miso – was, she slowly relented. "Check."

"Tent?"

"Check."

"Toothbrush and toothpaste?"

"Of course."

"Rope?"

Sakura paused and looked through her bag, slowly frowning more before glancing up at him. "Um, no, no rope. Why rope?"

"Oh the usual." Naruto/Miso turned to Sasuke and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Rope as so many uses after all."

Neither one of them was entirely certain what to make of the comment, especially when Naruto turned away and stared blinking owlishly, as though he didn't know what had happened any more than them. He hadn't _explicitly_ implied anything, which meant that Sakura couldn't yell at him for being a pervert. However, he hadn't suggested a practical use for it either, so Sasuke wasn't sure if he actually knew anything that could be done with rope.

Deciding to fall back on option E, Sakura raised a brow at Naruto. "Oh, so _you_ have rope then?"

Naruto pulled his pack around and dug into it, pulling out a length of rope. "Of course. I didn't just randomly ask that."

In his head though, _"When this this get here!?"_

 _*What? I thought we'd need it.*_

" _For WHAT?"_

" _PEOPLE!"_

 _*…actually yes, for people. Good job Shoyu, you get a cookie later.*_

" _WAFFLES?"_

" _Yes, that."_

" _YAY!"_

Naruto's grin twitched, the conversation seeming to suddenly go sideways so quickly it made his head spin. Still, Shoyu did technically have a point. Tying up bandits and the like would be an excellent use of his time, considering the fact that if he didn't he'd have to deal with them possibly getting away and robbing again. That would be rather counterproductive.

"Yo."

All three of them turned to stare at Kakashi, who was leading a drunk Tazuna along besides him. Tazuna looked them all over, his eyes somewhat vacant and distant. "Oh good, you're already here. Whelp, let's get dis show on the road."

"Sweet!" Naruto shouted, turning to the gates. Standing at the precipice of heading outside the gates, Naruto took a deep breath. "My first time outside the village. Our first time out. Alright, let's go!"

-x-

The trek to Nami began initially as a rather boring journey. According to Tazuna, the travel there would only take around a day or so, which was fine by the team. However, the man was far from the most talkative man, drunk as he was, and it meant that the journey began in silence. For all except those in Naruto's head, who kept up a running commentary of how beautiful everything was. Or, at least –

"PUDDLES!"

\- mostly everything.

Naruto rolled his eyes, glaring at the puddle. Why was there a puddle there? Turning up to the sky, he idly scowled at it. Seriously, they were in Hi no Kuni (The Land of Fire) which, although it did have a rainy season, it was…wait.

He slowly counted out the months. Negi filled him in, thankfully, and so he knew that the rainy season was currently now. However it had been a while since it had rained, which meant other areas likely had more moisture there and would have a colder winter.

 _~Focus Naruto. Something's wrong.~_

" _What?"_ Naruto blinked, almost pausing as they continued past the puddle. _"What do you mean?"_

 _~Shoyu doesn't just say things. Haven't you noticed that?~_

" _Well yeah, but –"_

Naruto's eyes narrowed, mind racing as he tried to think of what that meant for them. Puddle? What about it? There wasn't any reason why Shoyu should've brought it up as far as he could think.

 _*Wait, when did it last rain?*_

Hearing something behind them, Naruto turned around with wide eyes as the puddle began rising up ominously. Before Naruto could even think of anything, it formed into two entities. They both had dark spiky hair, gas masks, dark cloaks, a clawed gauntlet on opposite hand of each other, and hiates with four marks on them; marks that were most certainly not from Konoha. Between the two of them was a spiked chain, which was currently looped around Kakashi and being pulled tighter until –

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura shouted, eyes widening as the chain ripped through Kakashi.

"One down," The first one said, eyes staring at the rest of Team 7.

"Three to go." The second one said, moving forward towards the team.

Naruto froze. He felt himself lock up, his eyes widen as the reality settled in on him all too fast. He was out in the real world, he was facing not bandits, but shinobi – real shinobi. And they'd just killed Kakashi, so what could he do against them? What could –

" _Okay, Naruto's out, tagging in._ _"_

" _Tagging wha –"_

And once again, Naruto felt himself being moved to the back of his own body, watching through his eyes as his expression changed and his body shifted.

"Come at me!" Tonkotsu shouted, digging his feet into the ground before launching himself at the pair with surprising speed, catching the two off guard.

Naruto's body seemed to feel a sudden strain at it, but Tonkotsu ignored it for the moment as he dove headfirst into the one on the left. Literally headfirst. Using his head as a battering ram, Tonkotsu knocked the air from him before hopping back to begin pummeling them.

"You brat!" The second one said, turning sharply to attack Tonkotsu. Doing so turned out to be a poor choice as Sasuke intercepted him, laying out a kick in the face. Getting him to turn his attention to him, Sasuke just smirked.

"Don't think that Naruto is the only one you need to worry about." Sasuke said with a smirk, glancing back to Sakura. "Sakura, guard the bridge builder!"

"Y-yes!" Sakura said, pulling out a kunai and held it in the defensive posture. "Tazuna-san, get behind me!"

"They came…they actually came." Tazuna said, shaking as he stared at the two shinobi.

Tonkotsu let out a roar, stepping forwards and spinning on his heel before slamming into him again. Seeing their arm rear back, he frowned. Remembering the clawed gauntlet, Tokotsu waited till the last second before stepping into the blow and jumping slightly. Rather than being shredded, he got a glancing blow to his left forearm just above his hand as he spun over his clawed arm. With a shout, Tonkotsu brought his leg down on his head.

Sasuke for his part was doing only slightly better, seeing how he'd not gotten hit. He was also a lot faster than Naruto was, and was able to dodge around and land several quick blows to them before dodging back. The weight of the clawed gauntlet only made it harder for him to his Sasuke, seeing how he wasn't able to bring it around to claw him. Idly he thought about setting them on fire, but decided against it. There was too much chance of friendly fire hitting his team.

"Screw this!" The second shinobi growled, disconnecting his chain as he ducked and dodged away from Sasuke. "I'll just kill this guy and be done with it!"

Sakura's eyes widened, flinching as she tried to hold her ground. She could do this, she – stared into the depths of the man's eyes and saw no mercy, only the promise of her death. Shaking, she barely kept herself upright. There was no way she could do this, she was going to die!

Sasuke suddenly appeared in front of them, arms spread defensively as he stared them down. "Don't worry, we've got this."

"S-Sasuke-kun?"

"Hold still you brat!"

"Bite me you masked bastard!"

Tonkotsu flipped backwards, spinning for a second before slamming a hand into the shinobi's face again. Gripping them by their facemask, he dragged himself into them feet first and launched himself away. Had he not, he'd have been clawed in half as they tried to hit him again.

"Haha, missed me!"

"You're gonna pay for –"

Before he could finish, his eyes rolled into the back of his head as Kakashi slammed his hand in the back of their neck and knocked them out. Moving faster than they could see, he grabbed the second shinobi and slammed them back and away from the rest of the team. With a quick flourish, he had them bound and tied as he moved them over to a tree.

"Well, that was interesting." Kakashi said, glancing back to his team. "Well done everyone, you did very well."

"But-but Kakashi-sensei! You were…" Sakura turned to where she'd last seen Kakashi, eyes wide as she realized that there wasn't pieces of Kakashi splattered everywhere. "A…a log?"

"Amen." Kakashi said reverently. Turning to Tazuna, he crossed his arms and walked up to him. "So, it appears that you have quite a bit to explain."

"I –" Tazuna began, pausing when he heard cursing from Naruto. With wide eyes, they all saw that Naruto had taken a kunai and dragged it down across the slash wound that he'd taken. "Wh-what?"

"What? There might've been poison in it." Tonkotsu said matter-of-factly. Slowly, his expression changed as his control waned and Naruto retook control.

Staring at his new wounds, Naruto's eyes widened. "Okay I – ow, what the hell!"

"Oh." Kakashi blinked, walking up and gripping Naruto's shoulder gently. "You probably were in shock. Here, let me bandage that real quick."

Naruto nodded, wincing as Kakashi pressed a bandage to it. Delving back into his mind, Naruto tried desperately to think of something to say beyond the one thought racing through it. _"What the hell just happened?"_

" _What? You froze and were begging someone else to tag in. I just tagged in for you._ _"_

"That was some interesting taijutsu you used." Kakashi said softly, getting Naruto's attention. "It almost looked like something Gai would use."

" _Gai-sensei? Kakashi knows Bushy Brow's-sensei?_ _"_

"Er, you…know Gai-sensei?" Naruto frowned, idly noting the name 'Bushy Brow's'. He hadn't met him yet, so he still wasn't certain just how bushy they were, and he was beginning to get curious.

"Of course. He keeps proclaiming me as his rival." Kakashi said, chuckling softly. Pausing, he glanced up at Naruto with a raised brow. "Do you know what the taijutsu style is called?"

"Huh? Uh…" Naruto cursed, asking for an assist from Tonkotsu. Getting no help form his mind clone, he shrugged helplessly. "No, I don't."

"…I see."

Kakashi straightened, turning back to Tazuna." Okay, _now_ I think it's time you explain."

-x-

After listening to the man's plight and firmly announcing that, misranked or not, they would continue, the group carried onwards. As they did, Kakashi allowed himself to watch Naruto worriedly. He also made himself a mental note to speak with Gai later, seeing how the man was teaching his student things he didn't even know he was learning.

(1) Raiken, or Lightning Fist, required a great deal of inertia to strike with. It made use of center of gravity, and was excellent for more aerial attackers as they could still build speed for their blows over a short distance. It was also useful for people who didn't have the ability to build their speed like others might.

Naruto had practiced his chakra control day and night so far as Kakashi could tell, which left little time for physical fitness save the basic stuff he might do on his own. His clones however went and did as they pleased, clearly ecstatic to have their own bodies and to be able to do as such. One of which, apparently, was training with Maito Gai.

Gai knew about Naruto's condition, about his position, and had been told by Kakashi about what he'd seen from Naruto's clones. Several Jonin had been informed, just to keep an eye on them as they roamed about. No one was going to just drop down and attack them without cause, though some did remark that one of his clones kept disappearing into the Forest of Death. But that was on him.

That would explain how Naruto might know of the techniques he'd just used, but it didn't explain how Naruto himself could have used them. At least, up until he'd told Kakashi he knew nothing about what he'd just done.

Kakashi sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He'd have to report this as soon as he could, but that didn't mean he had to like it. The knowledge that Naruto's fragments could take control of Naruto's body was frightening, startling, but perhaps even more so it was the idea that Naruto was fine.

When he'd watched, he'd narrowed his eyes and almost jumped in and stopped the battle altogether when he'd seen the shift in Naruto. Fear did not vanish in such a way, where it was swept away as though another person was stepping up into the fight. And yet, had he not done so, Naruto would have likely gotten more injured than the small wound to his hand.

It was a chilling mix between what he knew, what he thought, and what he saw. He knew there were dangers, he thought he should tell Naruto to cut back on using his clones when he could, but what he'd seen was his clone stepping in to protect not only Naruto but his team as well. Or, at least he hoped that's what they'd been doing. Attacking an enemy and protecting a friend were not always the same thing, sadly.

Waiting was a dangerous game. On one hand, he could just say 'no more' and end it. But at the same time, if he waited there were branching paths; some good, others bad, some fantastic, others dreadful. It was the way of life, and he'd lived long enough to see just how many branching paths a scenario could have. And with Naruto, what he saw worried him.

Two of them were a danger, but to whom still remained to be seen. They were fighters, violent plain and simple; the way the one who'd taken over Naruto had dove in to fight Gozu of the Demon Brothers proof of that. But at the same time they clearly were skilled enough to fight with the chunin level threat; with the advantage of surprising them by rushing a counterattack.

The other two were in the air, completely unknown to him. He'd seen them with Team 10 and 8, but neither of their sensei's had said much about them. They apparently didn't spend time spying or peaking in on their training. They just met up with them like friends would and spent time with them. The only thing he did know was that the girl apparently did not like Ino, but was quite content with the boys. This led to some conflicts, but then nothing terrible had happened so he let it slide.

Then…Shoyu. He'd spent the most time around and with the young man and was perpetually in a state of concern. The boy had wide, open eyes, always watching as he wildly shifted and at times bent over backwards to see things behind him. This had resulted in Naruto jumping around to help him at first, until Shoyu had demonstrated that he was capable of getting up on his own.

There was something off about the fractured piece of Naruto. He'd seen his eyes, seemingly crazed and empty, but with something towards their center that belied an intelligence level he couldn't place. Was he as smart as Naruto? As the two violent ones? As the one who spent time with Team 10, or 8? He didn't know. What he did know was that whenever Shoyu spoke, Naruto listened.

At first he'd been puzzled. The words had initially made no sense. Looking 'underneath the underneath' though had eventually caused him to stare at the boy in surprise. He knew things, he saw things, but his ability to communicate was like that of a five-year-old. Taking into consideration some of the others, he guessed that meant that this fractured piece hadn't been 'fed' like the others with the thoughts and ideas running through Naruto's head after a certain point. That was good. But it was also something to think on since Kakashi couldn't place Shoyu's 'malfunction.'

"You alright man? You look seasick." The rower said, smiling down at Kakashi.

Kakashi nodded to himself, eyes still staring into the distance. "I'm fine. Just thinking over who else we might come across."

Sakura apparently heard that and looked back at him, face scrunched up in concern. "Do you think there'll be anyone as strong as you Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hm?" Kakashi thought about it, remembering who the Demon Brother's had left with when they'd abandoned Kirigakure no Sato (Village Hidden in the Mists). "Possibly, but most likely only one. Don't worry, I'll protect you."

"O-of course." Sakura said, looking away sheepishly.

Kakashi eyed her with a sad smile. She had contributed to the fight by allowing the boys to fight the shinobi, but no one liked guard duty. It made them feel weak, and defenseless. Like they couldn't take care of themselves without someone to take care of them. He'd help her, but then like with Naruto he didn't want to take away her own choice. It was her decision to ask for help if she felt she needed it; his was simply to be readily available for her to ask when the time came.

-x-

Disembarking from their little rowboat, the group continued on the path to Tazuna's house through a backwards way that led them through the forest and past a number of large lakes. Now that he was no longer as drunk (for certain reasons), and had nothing to hide, he was much more of a chatterbox. He told them about his daughter and grandson who were waiting at home, likely worried sick about him since he'd left. He'd also discussed how the bridge was slowing as Gato, the evil owner of Gato Incorporated, threatened, bullied, and bribed Tazuna's fellows to not work on the bridge.

It was a disheartening story, one that Kakashi wished he could say he hadn't heard before. There were plenty of people who had done similar things to what Gato was doing. Tazuna seemed a good enough person, but then he'd also lied to them to get them to help them in the first place.

Naruto seemed the least impressed by the lie, though he was also the move vocal about how they should help them. Sasuke just seem to be following Naruto, not caring one way or another where they went. And Sakura followed Sasuke, almost like a blind puppy.

The dynamic was surprising, though he could understand it after all that had happened lately. Naruto hadn't taken charge per se, but he had been the only one to get a bell, and had a driving force to a lot of what they'd been doing. He was smart enough to ask for help, or rather he was wise enough, was the first to admit that he'd had enough, and the first to say that they shouldn't quit at what they were doing.

One might simply call it 'childishness' or impatience, but those were some qualities that could be fine-tuned to becoming traits good shinobi all strived for. Granted, he had a long way to go for that, but he was far enough ahead.

Naruto twitched, sudden flinging a kunai into the bushes off to the side. Sakura jumped, pulling out her own while Sasuke took a defensive stance, staring at Naruto. "What is it?"

"I thought I saw something." Naruto muttered, moving over slowly towards the brush. As he pushed it way, he reached in and pulled out…a white rabbit. "…oh my gosh I am sO SORRY!"

"Naruto you idiot!" Sakura shouted, eye twitching as she began putting her kunai away. "You had us all jumpy over a rabbit!"

"I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS THERE!" Naruto shouted, hugging the terrified creature and attempting to soothe it. "I WAS JUST – Kawarimi?"

The shift was sudden, catching the other two off guard, but Kakashi's eyes widened as Shoyu's stared back at him. No, not Shoyu's eyes, but rather his personality. Like the windows to the soul they were rumored to be, the personality and intent that _was_ Shoyu seemed to shine through clear and present. Worst of all, it seemed that he understood what Kakashi himself did.

"Wh-what?" Sakura asked, taken aback by the shift in Naruto's demeanor.

"White!" Naruto/Shoyu said, proudly holding up the bunny before pulling it into another hug.

Sakura looked between Kakashi and Sasuke, both of whom were on edge and looking around. "Um, did I miss something?"

"…winter is still a few months away." Sasuke replied, a kunai drawn and ready to go.

"What?" Sakura returned her gaze to the bunny, eyes widening as realization crept over her. "Kawarimi…oh no."

"Get down!" Kakashi shouted, tackling Tazuna as Sasuke did the same for Sakura. Above them, a giant cleaver-like sword spun over them and slammed upwards into a tree. After a few seconds, a man appeared on the overly long hilt of the blade, back turned and impressively imposing stature painting an image in the minds of the genin. "Momochi Zabuza."

Zabuza turned as Kakashi spoke, revealing himself fully to them. He wore no shirt or cover for his chest save for the belt that likely held the sheath for the massive sword, had baggy pants with a striped pattern on them, along with matching wrist and leg warmers that extended up his arms. His face was covered to just below his eyes with bandages, and for some odd reason he wore his hiate to sideways rather than straight forwards; likely so that he could do tricks like this, turn, and still have people know he was from Kirigakure.

"Ah, Hatake Kakashi. It's an honor to see Konoha at least sent someone worth my time." Zabuza paused, laughing to himself. "Well, at least you are. I didn't realize that Konoha let their infants come out to play with the demons in the world."

"Everyone, stay back." Kakashi gripped his hiate, moving it upwards to reveal his scarred eye beneath it. "This guy is far above your level."

" _ **Say that to my face, you limp noodle!"**_ Memna shouted in Naruto's mind, though was thankfully kept away from saying so out loud by the rest of Naruto's mind. He wasn't the brightest, but he wasn't _that_ dumb. Or, maybe he was, and Memna had just taken it all.

"Ah, the legendary Sharingan. I'm honored that you'd take me seriously right off the bat."

"I don't really have a choice in the matter." Kakashi said, opening his eye to reveal that his left eye was in fact not the same as his right. Instead of a dark eye, it was red with 3 coma-like marks that spun idly. "I have to protect my cute little students after all."

"Feh." Zabuza muttered, kicking his sword out from the tree. Moving off the tree onto one of the nearby lakes, he raised his right hand into a hand sign in front of his face, with his left arm up in the air with a similar sign. "Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hiding in the Mist Technique)."

Within a few seconds, a thick mist began rolling across the surface towards them, quickly enveloping their group within it. The three genin of Team 7 moved quickly to surround Tazuna defensively. As they did so, there was a sudden oppressive feeling that pierced even the mist into their very hearts.

"With this fighting style, I can strike from anywhere in the mist. Sight, sound, smell…all are useless against me in the mist. You won't hear me coming until you stand before the gates of hell itself." Zabuza intoned, his voice echoing throughout the mist. The genin let their gaze twitch and glance around, unable to pin him down. "Heart…lungs…throat…carotid artery…trachea, spinal column, brain. So many places where I can strike. If I hit you in any of those. You'll be dead for sure. You won't –"

"Ha! That shows what you know! You can't kill what was never thinking!"

There was a silence, and a brief sound of something…choking? Laughing? Well, Sasuke and Sakura were certainly unsure what to make of the sudden outburst from their blond companion. The killing intent was there, but it had dropped so suddenly that they had been able to finally catch their breaths; had they not, Sakura might've been rather cross with Naruto for acting like an idiot.

In Naruto's head however…

 _*What the hell was that?!*_

" _ **Ha! That's what you get for repressing me and not anyone else! Just because I have something stupid to say doesn't mean I don't have the option of saying it!"**_

 _~It appears it was…effective. Strange, but effective. ~_

" _Oh my gosh I can't breathe! That was amazing, do it again!_ _"_

Hidden in the mist, Zabuza was trying his best to hold his tongue. Part of him wanted to lash out, to boast about how he'd killed maggots bigger than him, but only experience told him to wait. Clearly this was a trap, meant to keep him talking until they thought up some way to locate him. Perhaps the girl was secretly a sensor type? That might make sense. He'd have to kill her quickly then if he didn't get the bridge builder first. Gripping his sword, he sent a Mizu Bunshin (water clone) into their midst, posed to strike.

As it landed, some of the mist disappated, revealing it for just an instant. Before it to move to far, Kakashi slammed into it, kunai driven up to the hilt. Yes, perfect! Sending a second clone down, he had it cut Kakashi in half, watching as his blood sprayed everywhere like…

Like water.

Zabuza narrowed his eyes at the display, realizing that, in the brief instant that he'd seen the clone, he'd somehow managed to copy it and take out the clone? How? That shouldn't have been possible. Growling, he leapt down behind Kakashi, catching him by surprise as the clone disappeared. Rather than killing him outright, he now wanted to let the man suffer, to see just how powerless he was.

Turning on his heel, he slammed his foot into Kakashi's gut and sent him flying away from the group. There was a puffing sound of some technique being used, but he wasn't sticking around to see what it was. Racing after Kakashi, he skid to a halt. _"Calletrops? Heh, smart, but not good enough!"_

Leaping over them, he raced over and went through a series of hand signs. As Kakashi stared up at him, he smiled maliciously as the water dragged him up into sphere. "Suiro no Jutsu (Water Prison Technique)!"

-x-

Panic was not the first word that would describe the shoreline. Chaos might though.

"What the hell?"

"Where the hell?"

"How in the hell?"

"Why the hell?"

"When did he…"

"Kaa-san?"

"Who the hell are you?!"

The fine person was Sakura, who was pointing at the sudden appearance of five people in the middle of Naruto's clones. They'd clearly forgotten to introduce themselves to the group, and were embarrassed to realize that the idea of forming their henge while under the cover of mist was foiled when Zabuza – being a giant dick by doing so – released the technique and revealed that their team had five new members.

"Run!" Kakashi shouted from within the watery prison, trying his best to get them to leave. "Get out of here! Take Tazuna and run!"

"What – Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura blinked, turning to look between the suddenly crowded area.

"That sounds rather illogical of you Kakashi." Negi suddenly said, placing a hand on Sakura's shoulder in an attempt to calm her.

Tonkotso stared at Zabuza, squinting as though he saw something before suddenly laughing nervously. "Yeah~ no. We can _not_ do that. Come on, we aren't that stupid."

"Hey, what the hell are you talking about?" Memna said, growling at Tonkotsu before he punched a fist into his hand. "Besides Kakashi, wasn't it you who said those who abandon their friends are worse than trash?"

"Um, who the hell are you?" Sakura finally asked, looking between Negi and the rest of the clones.

Naruto, or at least one of the clones, pointed to them with a big grin. "Oh, these guys? They're…" He paused, thinking quickly before his face split with a wide grin. "They're my Bunshin Sentai!"

There was a silence from the group as all five of them turned and stared at Naruto. He didn't seem upset at all, merely proud of himself. Sasuke and Sakura deadpanned at him, glancing to the five questioningly. Seeing how they were put on the spot, they slowly shrugged.

"Yeah~ that's totally what we are." Memna said, stretching himself out.

"It's like we're color coordinated and everything." Miso said, eyes twitching. She knew which manga he'd been reading, but she hadn't thought that he'd say something so…well silly sounding. Still, that could be one way to look at them; they were clones, and they were an organized team. All they really needed was that color coordination…beyond the fact that they all wore orange.

"We don't have time for introductions unfortunately." Negi said, turning back to Kakashi and Zabuza. "Right now we have something far more important to deal with." As he stared at them, his face slowly twitched, changing from an impassive expression to a manic grin. "A challenge."

-x-

On the water, Zabuza raised a brow at what was occurring on the shore. He could see the clones, and had quickly put two and two together that they were most likely shadow clones. The idea that there was a genin who had the ability and chakra to use it was quite impressive.

"Seems your village isn't filled with complete trash then." Zabuza said, glancing down at Kakashi.

Kakashi was oddly silent for a second, before he eye-smiled up at Zabuza. "What can I say? They're my cute students after all."

"…feh. Tree hugging…" Lifting his free hand, Zabuza formed trio of clones of his own and sent it to fight them. "Let's see how well they can deal with this."

"I feel sorry for them." Kakashi said. Seeing the bemused expression on Zabuza's face, Kakashi continued. "For your clones. The clones over there…well, I wouldn't look down on them. They're craftier than you give them credit for."

-x-

"Oh good, yes that's exactly what we need. A clone war, battle to the death to see who's the better clone." Miso's eye was twitching nonstop now, and she jabbed a finger at the clones. "Please tell me _someone_ has a plan!"

"I do." Negi said, forming a hand sign. With a poof, he vanished from amongst them and returned to their heads. Or, rather, Naruto's heads. _~Alright, here's what I want you to do…~_

Naruto blinked, nodding slowly before clapping his hands together. "Okay, got it! Operation 'free Kakashi-sensei' is a go! Sasuke, you're with me. Sakura, you and Tonkotsu protect Tazuna!"

"Aw man!" Tonkotsu moaned, stepping back regardless in a defensive pose with another Naruto clone to his side. "I wanted part of the action too…"

"Negi says 'next time'." Naruto said, grinning as he pointed to Miso and Memna. "You two, think you can take the clone on the right?"

Miso glanced at him, slowly smirking as she nodded. "I think I can handle that 'tall glass of water' clone."

"…ew. I did not need that mental image, thank you." Memna said, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he walked towards the clone. Pausing, he cupped his hands around his mouth. "Oi! Zabuza! I call dibs on your sword if we kill you!"

"Oi!" Tonkotsu suddenly perked up, looking rather miffed. "I wanted the sword though!"

"To bad, I called dibs!" Memna said, grinning as he rushed the water clone.

"Gutsy." The clone muttered, clashing with Memna and Miso, who had pulled a bunch of shuriken and was pelting the clone as Memna engaged in close quarters.

"Better believe it!" Memna shouted, laughing wildly as he ducked and dodged the cleaving sword, trying to get in and cut it apart with his pair of kunai.

 _Sasuke and Naruto_

Sasuke had absolutely no idea what was going on. First there were clones, then some of the clones acted like they were their own people and somehow along the way he'd gotten roped into fighting a clone with Naruto. The rest of his clones were distracting the third, most likely so that they could all deal with it together if they could first handle the clones in front of them.

Growling, Sasuke ducked to the side as Zabuza's blade passed near his head. He didn't think that this was a good plan, but he'd allowed himself to follow the idiot and couldn't give himself the time to regret it.

He'd been seconds away from turning his kunai in on himself and killing himself. The pressure, the feeling of doom and death, the impression that Zabuza could and would kill them in any of the ways he'd mentioned. And with the oppressive feeling, more focused and intense than he'd ever imagined from his brother, he'd just wanted for it to end.

And then Naruto had spoken. It was dumb, it was stupid, it was something only Naruto might've thought of. And it had saved his life.

Now, Sasuke wasn't one for 'life debts' or anything like that, but thus far Naruto had successfully helped him through several things; he'd helped him become a genin, he'd gotten the Hokage to give them a C-ranked mission, he'd been the driving force to allow them to remain on the mission, and now he'd saved his life. From himself, yes, but still.

"Dodge!" Naruto shouted, tackling Sasuke out of the way of another swing. Sasuke's eye twitched. Okay, two times. "Come on man, focus! We just need to cut him so he becomes water and we're good!"

"And just how do you think we should do that then?" Sasuke snapped in irritation. Not knowing the plan or being able to catch on was getting to him, and they were not in a good position either.

Naruto's eyes glazed over, slowly bringing a grin to his face. "We're going to set him on fire."

Sasuke blinked, slowly catching on a bit. "Okay, how?"

"Keep up with me." Naruto turned and dashed towards Zabuza, propelling himself forwards much faster than Sasuke had ever seen him move.

Flipping up onto his feet, Sasuke began his own assault with shuriken, somewhat like Miso and Memna were off to the side. The only difference was, that Sasuke had a fireball awaiting this clone when he felt he had an opening.

For his part, the water clone wasn't incredibly stupid. Slow, seemingly not as strong as the original had been, but more than enough to take on Naruto, it simply wasn't able to catch Naruto as he twisted about and tried with all his might to get even one hit off on the clone.

Watching carefully, Sasuke's eye slowly narrowed. This was about more than just seeing Zabuza, he had to see Naruto, begin to predict where he'd go so that he could avoid roasting him in the crossfire. Gritting his teeth, he ran through the needed hand seals.

"Katon! Goukakyuu no jutsu (Fire release! Grand Fireball Technique)!"

The fireball flew forwards in almost slow motion, catching the clone off guard. For a second he was certain he'd caught him. Then, moving faster than his fireball could reach him, the clone blocked it with the giant sword, kneeling so as to not be burnt by the flames as they parted around him. Sasuke cursed, readying another fireball as –

Hearing a sudden hiss, Sasuke froze and stared as the fire dissipated. Behind the clone, in ironically the head down, arms straight out posture of the Sennen Goroshi, Naruto stood with a kunai between his fingers where he'd clearly stabbed the clone. Peaking up over his arms, he smirked. "Never let an enemy get behind you, right Sasuke?"

Realizing that the fireball hadn't been meant as the actual attack, but the diversion, Sasuke relaxed. That had been more clever than he first realized. "Hn."

"NO!"

The word caught them off guard and forced the pair to turn. As they caught sight of the commotion, they froze as a new wave of killing intent washed over the clearing.

-x-

 _Memna and Miso_

Memna enjoyed this a bit too much. Despite the ducking and dodging needed he instead preferred to clash with the water clone, eyes wide with glee as he felt the oppressive strength of his opponent, the crushing weight of his blade, and saw the desire to kill him in his eyes. Memna didn't care about that though; he just wanted the thrill.

The thrill was something deep within, a blood boiling sensation where your heart begins beating and you push into yourself for more strength than you can possibly use otherwise. It had been something he'd learnt fighting the tigers – or tiger, he wasn't sure if it had been more than one of the same – and something that he'd begun implementing in how he fought.

Granted, he did it with purpose. The tiger had defended its home, its territory. He wasn't going to use the word 'friends' for the newly named Bunshin Sentai, though that did apply somewhat to Naruto's view of Sasuke and Sakura. No, they weren't friends; they were family. Born of the same chakra, and pieces of the same mind. And in his mind, while a normal demon wouldn't care for those bonds, he would; he'd gone without them for so long his envy and his greed demanded it.

So, with a roar, he threw himself into the heat of battle. He could feel the vague sensation of Miso's shuriken and kunai flying by to strike at the water clone, but he paid them no mind. They were Zabuza's distraction, not his. Yet, despite the harsh blows he struck out with, it appeared Zabuza was most certainly not a pushover.

"Why. Won't. You. Just. Die?!" Memna raged, jumping over another blow and kicking down against it with a chakra filled blow. Despite his intentions, it did little to drive it off course. However, as he'd used chakra in it, he found himself instead sticking to the blade and winding up over Zabuza's shoulder. "…okay, not expected."

Zabuza twitched, turning his blade towards the ground. "Get off!"

Memna grinned, already hopping off as he drew his blades back. "Sure thing! Just let me –"

Before he finished, there was a lurching sensation and he was suddenly crouched in front of Zabuza rather than over him. Not wasting an opportunity, as Zabuza's blade went up and cleaved the air where he'd been, he rammed his blades into Zabuza's gut, grinning as the clone fell apart. Looking up though, his eyes widened in horror as he saw what he'd missed.

Miso, who'd paid better attention, had realized that Zabuza's back swing was just as dangerous as any other kenjutsu technique he had. Unlike Memna, she didn't have her kunai a she'd spent most of her time throwing them as a distraction for Memna. So when Memna had foolishly jumped off, she'd rushed in where Memna had wound up and replaced him with herself.

That meant that rather than him, she'd taken the blow and had been cleaved in two.

She disappeared of course, in a puff of smoke that signified the end of the technique, but the sight just a moment before would likely haunt him. Gripping his blades, his eyes narrowed at the final clone. "You… _you…_ "

"NO!"

Memna froze, horrified by the voice as he turned and saw its course. With the sound of shredding fabric, he felt the weight of a killing intent just shy of Zabuza's own and found himself falling to his knees. Not for the weight of it, but for the image that stood in the air before him.

-x-

 _Shoyu_

People should know better than to forget about Shoyu. However, he did not come across as bright, or intelligent until you understood what he meant. His mind was scattered with details and information; things like one might believe that they didn't need.

For example, one would never precisely _need_ to know the exact eye color of a teammate, but Shoyu knew it. One did not need to know that there was a slight difference between how much chakra was used to replace oneself depending on the kind of log used (amen), but Shoyu knew it, and knew how much. One didn't need to know exactly how to tell apart oneself from the midst of one's own clones…and sadly, Shoyu did not know how to do that himself.

So rather than just find where the original was the way any other clone would, Shoyu had spent the majority of the fight wandering between clones as he ducked and dodged his way through the battle, staring each clone in the face scrutinizing confusion. "Kaa-san?"

"Shoyu? What are – get out of here!" the clone shouted, grabbing Shoyu and throwing him to the side as the third of Zabuza's clones slammed down near where he'd just been.

He didn't mind. Kaa-san knew what was best. Getting to his feet, he looked at the next clone. "Kaa-san?"

"Shoyu be careful! This guy – whoa!" Diving at Shoyu, the clone tackled him out of the way of another sideswipe of Zabuza's enormous sword.

Whining softly, Shoyu glanced around. While the clone helped him to his knees, Shoyu let his eyes dart around wildly. No. No. No. Where was kaa-san? This wasn't right. Kaa-san had made the clones, so kaa-san was here, right?

"Shoyu!"

Shoyu paused and glanced back out towards the water, blinking as Kakashi stared at him worriedly. Kakashi? Worried about him? The man had always looked at him funny, like he thought he was broken. Now he had such kind eyes. Such kind…mismatched…weird eyes.

"Don't worry." Kakashi said, smiling as confidently as he could. Which wasn't very, seeing how tired and sickly he was beginning to look. "Everything will be just fine."

No. That wasn't right. Why would he say that? Why would he lie to him? To comfort him, a clone. That wasn't how he thought of Kakashi, the nosy, perverted uncle who helped keep kaa-san. "Ero-occhan?"

"Trust me Shoyu. Everything will be okay." He looked Shoyu in the eyes, and as they locked eyes Shoyu's own widened.

He knew the eyes of his team. He knew them probably better than they knew themselves. Those were not Kakashi's eyes.

"NO!"

With a pull on his jackets sleeves, he tore them to shreds with a swift motion. His eyes locked onto the clone and he wished murder upon him. He conjured up the depths of hell and despair and he unleashed it from every pore in his body. His presence, he person, himself.

Above him, similar to the image of a demon that had seemed to form in the mist when Zabuza had released his own killing intent, an image began to form. Unlike Zabuza's which looked like a standard oni, his was…different. Hovering above him, it looked like an entity wearing an Anbu's mask, the next disjointed and elongated as it twitched violently with each breath he took. There were no eyes to be seen in that face; just the emptiness and darkness within that he because of how broken he was, he literally could not explain why it existed.

However, he was alive, he was not empty, and his reason for existence was currently trapped by the man before him.

With a roar of absolute outrage, he rushed the clone, not hearing the yelps of the other clones as he used them to propel himself onwards. They had once thrown him to the side to protect him, and now he did the same to protect them. From himself, and from his rage.

The water clone did its best to fend him off, but found out quite quickly that just because he was in a berserk fury that he should not be trifled with. When Zabuza attempted to bring his cleaver down on him, he reached up with chakra encased hands and slammed it to the side. On the backswing Zabuza's clone used he ducked beneath it before forcing himself upright and using his other hand to shove it upwards. The sudden changes of direction put a strain on both his body and Zabuza's clones.

The difference was that Shoyu didn't care.

With a snarl he leapt upon the clone and began slamming his fist against Zabuza's face. He felt something slam into him and knock him off, likely Zabuza's punch, and rolled immediately to his feet before leaping again.

As Zabuza attempted another attack, he found himself suddenly mobbed by the Naruto clones. They'd kept their distance before, trying not to get dispelled to quickly, but for Shoyu they shared their creators feeling; protect him, at all cost. Even if that meant throwing themselves to their demise to allow him to berserk safely, they'd do so.

One of the smart ones tossed a kunai at Shoyu before Zabuza's clone threw them off, dispelling them and forcing them in all directions. It was too late though, as Shoyu reached his target and tore into him, not satisfied with one strike as he slammed the kunai into his form again and again until the clone's body finally burst and fell apart around his fingers.

"Kaa-san!" Shoyu shouted, turning towards the Zabuza on the lake.

"Sasuke now!"

"Demon windmill shuriken!"

Sasuke leapt into the air, propelled by a clone's assistance, and threw a large folded shuriken at the Zabuza on the lake. The first one he caught all to easily, laughing mockingly as he did so. The second one was less amusing as it raced towards him. With nowhere to go, he smirked and leapt upwards.

Before he could realize his mistake, the shuriken exploded in a puff of smoke right in front of him, and Kakashi appeared with his fist buried in Zabuza's gut as he threw him away from the water prison. And, with a groan of relief, the Kakashi within fell into the water amid a burst of smoke, revealing tired and wet, but victorious Naruto.

* * *

AN: Whaaaaaaaat? Naruto how'd you get in there? Hm? Answers later action now? Well if you say so.

So, there are some obvious changes from canon, but the Wave Arc has begun and WOW I am so glad this didn't take too long to get to because I was really looking forward to certain parts of that fight. One of which will solve an issue that the Bunshin Sentai have been having, but that'll be shown…either next chapter or the one after that.

Also, anyone against Bunshin Sentai as the name for Naruto's "clone team" comment below so I can have that as a reference.

Plus, more mysteries revolving the clones, most importantly the one who literally cannot tell you why he is the way he is; Shoyu. And let me just say, berserker Shoyu was so much fun; very short to write, but then that's okay seeing how I was able to give you a scope of how different his skills are compared to the others (i.e. Memna couldn't move the sword, but Shoyu did…twice).

* * *

So, the poll for "new or not new" for the Chunin Exams in the polls! Let's check it out.

New/Not New: 2/0

* * *

Not a whole lot of votes there, but then it was just posted and it's not exactly like pairings. However! If you want to be heard, make sure you voice it! I want to hear my readers opinions because you are all amazing people and I want to make sure that I continue to post good stuff. Plus, the Chunin Exams won't change certain things, but the new path will allow for…other options to be explored.

What do I mean? Well we have to finish Wave first, so tune in next time for **Naruto: Fractured**!


End file.
